Show ContentsWaile History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Waile is part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived near a stone-built wall. Waile is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Other types of local surnames include topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Waile referred to a person who lived beside a large stone wall, which was used either for the purpose of fortification, or to keep back the encroachment of the sea. Members of the Waile family were established in Gloucestershire prior to the Norman Conquest of England, in 1066. By the time of the Conquest, they were major landholders in that county.

Early Origins of the Waile family

The surname Waile was first found in Gloucestershire where they held a family seat from very ancient times and appeared as holders of lands in the Domesday Book compiled in 1086 by King William of England. The name was from the Anglo Saxon Wal, meaning a stranger. Wales is a parish, in the union of Worksop, S. division of the wapentake of Strafforth and Tickhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire. "This parish, in the Domesday Survey called Walise, belonged to Morcar, Earl of Northumberland, in the reign of Edward the Confessor." 1

Early History of the Waile family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Waile research. Another 134 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1210, 1303, 1352, 1588, 1620, 1647, 1666, 1679, 1728, 1760, 1789 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Waile History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Waile Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Waile has been spelled many different ways, including Wall, Walls, Wale, Walles and others.

Early Notables of the Waile family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Thomas Wale (1303-1352), an English soldier and co-founder of the Knight of the Garter; William de Wall, the knight who accompanied Strongbow; Saint John Wall, O.F.M., (1620-1679), an English Catholic Franciscan friar, apprehended under suspicion of being a party to the Titus Oates plot, was executed and later honored...
Another 55 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Waile Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Waile family to Ireland

Some of the Waile family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 80 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Waile family

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Wailes to arrive in North America: John Walls, a servant, who settled in Argentia, Newfoundland in 1773; Phillip Walls was a fisherman of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland in 1745; William Walls settled in Annapolis Maryland in 1758.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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