Foyle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland lead by Strongbow introduced the first non-Gaelic elements into Irish nomenclature. These Anglo-Normans brought some traditions to Ireland that were not readily found within Gaelic system of hereditary surnames. One of the best examples of this is the local surname. Local surnames, such as Foyle, were taken from the name of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. These surnames were very common in England, but were almost non-existent within Ireland previous to the conquest. The earliest surnames of this type came from Normandy, but as the Normans moved, they often created names in reference to where they actually resided. Therefore, some settlers eventually took names from Irish places. Originally, these place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or was eliminated entirely. The Foyle family originally lived near a pit, an excavation, or a manmade hollow. The surname Foyle is derived from the Old French word "fouille," which means "pit." This is a derivative of the verb "fouillir," which means "to dig up" or "to excavate." This pit may have been a lime-pit or clay-pit or a hole in to which refuse was thrown. The surname Foyle belongs to the large category of Anglo-Norman habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Foyle family

The surname Foyle was first found in Hampshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times, some say they were granted lands by William the Conqueror after his conquest of England in 1066, and the name is believed to be derived from the French Fouille, "an excavation."

"Though apparently Irish, perhaps through association with the Ulster lough and river and other Irish place-names so called-as a surname Foyle is not Irish in origin, but is derived from the French fouille (excavation) and first appears in mediaeval England as atte Foyle. As Foyle and Foyll it occurs in early Dublin city records at least once in the thirteenth century and quite frequently in the fourteenth, but less often in the fifteenth and sixteenth: throughout that period the family had continuous association with the parish of St. Werburgh's." 1

Early History of the Foyle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Foyle research. Another 144 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1664 are included under the topic Early Foyle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Foyle Spelling Variations

Church officials and medieval scribes spelled names as they sounded; therefore, single person, could have his name spelt many different ways during their lifetime. While investigating the origins of the name Foyle, many spelling variations were encountered, including: Foyle, Foile, Foille, Foylle and others.

Early Notables of the Foyle family

Notable amongst the family up to this time was

Foyle of Hampshire

Foyle migration to the United States +

Ireland's Great Potato Famine left the country's inhabitants in extreme poverty and starvation. Many families left their homeland for North America for the promise of work, freedom and land ownership. Although the Irish were not free of economic and racial discrimination in North America, they did contribute greatly to the rapid development of bridges, canals, roads, and railways. Eventually, they would be accepted in other areas such as commerce, education, and the arts. An examination of immigration and passenger lists revealed many bearing the name Foyle:

Foyle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Foyle who settled in Philadelphia in 1836
John Foyle, who arrived in New York in 1836 2
Michael Foyle, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1848 2
Samuel Foyle, who settled in Philadelphia in 1873
John Foyle, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1877

Foyle migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Foyle Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Foyle, (Poyle), English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 3
Edward Foyle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1848 4
John Foyle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1848 4
Caroline Foyle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1848 4
Fanny Foyle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "David Malcolm" in 1848 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Foyle (post 1700) +

Christina Foyle, Chief Executive Officer of W. & G. Foyle Limited, Foyle's Literary Luncheons
Martin John Foyle (b. 1963), in Salisbury Wiltshire is a former British football player
Adonal David Foyle (b. 1975), in Canouan, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a National Basketball Association player
Sir Edward Foyle Collingwood FRS DL CBE (1900-1970), English mathematician and scientist

Historic Events for the Foyle family +

HMS Royal Oak

Archie Arthur Foyle (1920-1939), British Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 5

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) DAVID MALCOLM - EMIGRANT SHIP - 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848DavidMalcolm.htm
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html