Show ContentsCoyle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Irish name Coyle was originally written in a Gaelic form as Mac Giolla Chomhgaill, denoting a devotee of St. Comgal.

Early Origins of the Coyle family

The surname Coyle was first found in Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Coyle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coyle research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1641 is included under the topic Early Coyle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Coyle Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Coyle include Coyle, Coyl, Coyles, M'Illhoyle, Coile, Coil, M'Coyle, O'Coyle, Coiles, Coyls, Coils, Koyle, Koyles, Koyl, Koill, Koiles, Coylle, Coylles and many more.

Early Notables of the Coyle family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

  • Most Reverend Anthony Coyle, Bishop of Raphoe, one of Ireland's greatest poets...

Coyle Ranking

In the United States, the name Coyle is the 2,025th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 1 However, in the United Kingdom, the name Coyle is ranked the 817th most popular surname with an estimated 8,293 people with that name. 2


Coyle migration to the United States +

Ireland became inhospitable for many native Irish families in the 19th centuries. Poverty, lack of opportunities, high rents, and discrimination forced thousands to leave the island for North America. The largest exodus of Irish settlers occurred with the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. For these immigrants the journey to British North America and the United States was long and dangerous and many did not live to see the shores of those new lands. Those who did make it were essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the world. These Irish immigrants were not only important for peopling the new settlements and cities, they also provided the manpower needed for the many industrial and agricultural projects so essential to these growing nations. Immigration and passenger lists have documented the arrival of various people bearing the name Coyle to North America:

Coyle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Edward Coyle, who landed in Virginia in 1705 3
Coyle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Hugh Coyle, who arrived in America in 1805 3
  • Dennis Coyle, aged 30, who arrived in New York in 1812 3
  • Francis Coyle, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 3
  • Catherine Coyle, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 3
  • Daniel Coyle, who arrived in New York, NY in 1817 3
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Coyle Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • James Winston Coyle, who landed in Alabama in 1924 3

Coyle migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Coyle Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
Coyle Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Patt Coyle, aged 35, who landed in Quebec in 1833
  • Sally Coyle, aged 33, who landed in Quebec in 1833
  • Alexander Coyle, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Ugoni" from Belfast, Ireland
  • Hugh Coyle, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Ugoni" from Belfast, Ireland
  • Mary Coyle, aged 6, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the brig "Ugoni" from Belfast, Ireland
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Coyle migration to Australia +

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

Coyle Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Ferdinard Coyle, (b. 1771), aged 22, Irish soldier who was convicted in Donegal, Ireland for life for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Boddingtons" on 15th February 1793, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1818 5
Coyle Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. James Coyle, (b. 1799), aged 20, Irish weaver who was convicted in Cavan, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Castle Forbes" on 3rd October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), possibly returned per "Medway" in 1826 6
  • Miss Sarah Coyle, English convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Buffalo" on 4th May 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
  • Mr. William John Coyle, (b. 1817), aged 17, English convict who was convicted in Lancaster, Lancashire, England for 7 years for house breaking, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
  • Mr. John Coyle, (b. 1810), aged 26, Irish farmer who was convicted in County Laois (Queens County), Ireland for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • Mr. Michael Coyle, (b. 1801), aged 35, Irish farmer who was convicted in County Laois (Queens County), Ireland for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Earl Grey" on 27th August 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1836 aboard the ship 9
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Coyle migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Coyle Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • M Coyle, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1842
  • Mr. Patrick Coyle, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "British Queen" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 30th August 1859 10
  • Miss Jane Coyle, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Victory " arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 17th October 1863 11
  • Miss Sarah Coyle, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Victory " arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 17th October 1863 11
  • Miss Mary Coyle, (b. 1860), aged 18, Irish general servant from Donegal departing on 10th August 1878 aboard the ship "Hydaspes" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 9th November 1878
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Coyle (post 1700) +

  • William Radford Coyle (1878-1962), American Republican politician, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 30th District, 1925-27, 1929-33; Defeated, 1926 12
  • Stephen F. Coyle, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1972 12
  • Walter J. Coyle, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1944, 1948 12
  • Rosemary Coyle, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Connecticut, 2004 12
  • Reuben F. Coyle (b. 1821), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Oregon State Constitutional Convention from Linn County, 1857 12
  • Philip E. Coyle, American politician, U.S. Consular Agent in Bluefields, 1902 12
  • Matthew Coyle, American Democratic Party politician, First Selectman of West Haven, Connecticut, 1956-57 12
  • Michael J. Coyle, American politician, Member of New Jersey State House of Assembly from Hudson County, 1892-94 12
  • Martin A. Coyle, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1952 (alternate), 1956, 1960, 1964 (alternate) 12
  • Mark Coyle, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma, 2004 12
  • ... (Another 57 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Lady of the Lake
  • Mr. Patrick Coyle (b. 1812), Irish labourer from Moville, Ireland who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and he died in the sinking
Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)
  • Patricia Mary Coyle (1968-1988), American Student from Wallingford, Connecticut, America, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 13


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  3. 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)
  4. Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/boddingtons
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/castle-forbes
  7. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/buffalo
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-grey
  10. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  11. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  12. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  13. Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html


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