Show ContentsL'isle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the L'isle family

The surname L'isle was first found in Oxfordshire at Shirburn, a parish, in the union of Thame, hundred of Pirton. "This place was the property of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, and passed to Alice, wife of Warine de L'lsle, whose descendant of the same name obtained from Edward III. licence to embattle his house here. Shirburn Castle, the seat of the Earl of Macclesfield, is surrounded by a moat, over which is a drawbridge; it contains a noble hall, an armoury, and a suite of splendid apartments, with a fine collection of paintings, including a portrait of Catherine Parr, wife of Henry VIII." 1

The same Alice de Lisle, (note spelling change) was lady of the manor of Alwarton, in 1332. 2 "The family are descended from Radulphus de Insula, temp. William the Conqueror." 3

This name is one of the very few names that traces back to the Domesday Book of 1086. There the Latin form of the name: Hunfridus de Insula in Warwickshire was found. 4 Moreover, this is one of the very few forename and surname entries found there as in most cases only a surname was in use at that time. Later we found Peter de Isla in Yorkshire in 1166 and later again, Robert del Ille was listed as a Freeman of York in 1311. 5

"Isle is a common French place-name and the surname may sometimes derive from Lille (Nord), but it may also be of English origin. Robert de Insula, Bishop of Durham in 1274, was the son of poor crofters at Lindisfarne and took his name from Holy Isle." 5

Some of the family later held estates at Dibden in Southampton. "The church, a very ancient structure, has been thoroughly repaired and repewed, at a cost of £500, and some windows of painted glass have been inserted; it contains monuments to the Lisle family, who were lords of the manor, and of whom Lady Lisle was condemned to death by Judge Jeffries (Jeffreys)." 1

Despite the aforementioned, Scotland has traditionally held the lion's share of the family and most people claim descent from there as "a family of this name were barons of Duchal in Renfrewshire as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century. They were of the same stock as the Northumberland family of 'de Insula' (as the name appears in Latin) or 'Lisle' (de Lisle, Delisle in French). The first of the name in Scotland appears to have been Radulphus or Ralph de Insula, a follower of the Steward, who witnessed the gift by Baldwin de Bigre, sheriff of Lanharc (Lanark), of the church of Innerkyp to the monks of Paisley, c. 1170." 6

Early History of the L'isle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our L'isle research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1058, 1296, 1610, 1617, 1632, 1659, 1664, 1685, 1716, 1767, 1788, 1790, 1795, 1797, 1801, 1805, 1809, 1810, 1825, 1831, 1849, 1853, 1857, 1865, 1875 and 1890 are included under the topic Early L'isle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

L'isle Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Lyle, Lille, Lile, Lisle, Lyall, Lyal, Lyel and many more.

Early Notables of the L'isle family

Notable among the family at this time was Sir John Lisle (1610-1664), an English lawyer and politician who supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War, one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England, he was assassinated by an agent of the crown while in...
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early L'isle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

L'isle Ranking

In the United States, the name L'isle is the 14,256th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 7

Migration of the L'isle family to Ireland

Some of the L'isle family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


L'isle migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

L'isle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Tho Lisle, who landed in Virginia in 1637 8
L'isle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Hans Geoe Lisle, aged 34, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1737 8
L'isle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • James Lisle, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 8

L'isle migration to Australia +

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

L'isle Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Thomas Lisle, British Convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 20th July 1837, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
  • William Lisle, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Glenswilly" in 1839 10

Contemporary Notables of the name L'isle (post 1700) +

  • Vern Lisle, American Republican politician, Member of Iowa State House of Representatives from Page County; Elected 1950; Speaker of the Iowa State House of Representatives, 1959-60 11
  • Marcus Claiborne Lisle (1862-1894), American Democratic Party politician, State court judge in Kentucky, 1890; U.S. Representative from Kentucky 10th District, 1893-94 11
  • Henry L. Lisle, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Barton County; Elected 1964 11
  • David B. Lisle, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1948 11
  • Daniel J. Lisle, American politician, Member of California State Assembly 12th District, 1851-52 11
  • Hector René Charles Marquis Galard L'Isle, Editor-in-Chief of the "France-Observateur," Paris
  • Viscount de Lisle,
  • Alicia Lisle (1614-1685), English parliamentarian
  • Graham Lisle Harle (1931-2022), British-born Canadian politician, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta (1972-1986), Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1975-1979), Solicitor General (1979-1983)
  • David Lisle Kinney, New Zealand musician

HMS Repulse
  • Mr. Alexander Joyce Lisle (b. 1919), British Able Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 12


The L'isle Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sedulo et honeste
Motto Translation: Diligently and honestly.


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  3. Sims, Clifford Stanley The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames. 1862. Print.
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  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)
  7. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  8. 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)
  9. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th February 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1837
  10. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) GLENSWILLY 1839 (also called DAWSONS). Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Glenswilly.htm
  11. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  12. HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook