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Eagle History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Eagle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Eagle is one of the most ancient names to come from the Norman culture that arrived in Britain soon after the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a person who was a person exhibiting characteristics associated with the eagle, such as a lordly or impressive nature, or sharp-eyed vision. The name may also be of toponymic origin and derive from either of two place-names Eagle, in Lincolnshire, 1 or L'Aigle, in Normandy. 2

Another source claims the name is "metaphorically applied to a person of ambitious or soaring disposition." 3

Early Origins of the Eagle family

The surname Eagle was first found in Lincolnshire where the name dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 as Aclei or Aycle. 4 Literally the place name means "wood where oak trees grow." 5

However, we must look to Yorkshire to find one of the first record in early rolls, that of Gilbertus de Aquila who was listed there in the Pipe Rolls of 1196. Richer del Egle was found in the Curia Regis Rolls for Northumberland in 1210 and a few years later, Ralph Egle was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1230. 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 record: William Egle, Cambridgeshire; Custance Egke, Cambridgeshire; and Gilbert de la Hegle, Sussex. 7

In Scotland, the family claim descent from the "Norman family of L'Aigle. Matilda de Aquila, 1129, [was] widow of Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland." 8

Early History of the Eagle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eagle research. Another 102 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1129 and 1230 are included under the topic Early Eagle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eagle Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Eagle are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Eagle include Eagle, Eagles, Hegel, Hegell, Aigle, Eagel, Ligle and others.

Early Notables of the Eagle family

More information is included under the topic Early Eagle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eagle Ranking

In the United States, the name Eagle is the 4,397^th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 9

Eagle migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Eagle, or a variant listed above:

Eagle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

George Eagle, who settled in Virginia in 1635
Geo Eagle, who landed in Virginia in 1635 10
Katherine Eagle, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Walter Eagle, who landed in Virginia in 1663 10
William Eagle, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 10

Eagle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Eagle who settled in Maryland in 1736
Marcus Eagle, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1761 10
Edward Eagle, who settled in New England in 1763
Henry Eagle, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 10

Eagle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

George Eagle, aged 9, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 10
Ann Eagle, aged 10, who landed in New York, NY in 1803 10
Eliza Eagle, who landed in New York in 1825 10
E Eagle, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 10
Mrs. Eagle, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 10

Eagle migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Eagle Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Eagle, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749
John Eagle, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Ms. Ann Eagle U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 329 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 28, 1783 at Staten Island, New York 11

Eagle migration to Australia +

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

Eagle Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard Eagle, British convict who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bussorah Merchant" on 1st October 1829, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
Mr. John Simmonds Eagle, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Bardaster" on 7th September 1835, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 13
Reuben John Eagle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Moffatt" in 1839 14
Eliza Eagle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Moffatt" in 1839 14
Charlotte Eagle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Moffatt" in 1839 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Eagle (post 1700) +

John Denyer Red Eagle (1948-2024), American Osage politician who served as the principal chief of the Osage Nation
James Philip Eagle (1837-1904), American politician, 16th Governor of Arkansas
Sherman H. Eagle, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1912, 1928, 1936 15
Mary Eagle, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1996 15
Joe Henry Eagle (1870-1963), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Texas 8th District, 1913-21, 1933-37 15
James S. Eagle, American Republican politician, Chair of Randolph County Republican Party, 1905 15
James Philip Eagle (1837-1904), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Arkansas State Constitutional Convention, 1874; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 1884; Governor of Arkansas, 1889-93 15
Harold B. Eagle, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Summers County, 1948; Candidate for West Virginia State Senate 10th District, 1950; Mayor of Hinton, West Virginia, 1965 15
Frank Eagle, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Alaska State Senate District P, 1994 15
E. C. Eagle, American Republican politician, Chair of Summers County Republican Party, 1917 15
... (Another 6 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Eagle family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. Alfred James Eagle (d. 1912), aged 22, English Trimmer from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 16

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bussorah-merchant
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bardaster
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) MOFFATT 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Moffatt.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html