Show ContentsMuyle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Muyle name is derived from the Cornish word "moyl," meaning "bald," as such, it may have evolved from a nickname.

Early Origins of the Muyle family

The surname Muyle was first found in Cornwall where the surname is "not from mule, as the family appear to have imagined when they assumed the arms, 'Gules, a moyle or mule passant argent;' but from a place in or contiguous to the parish of St. Minovor. " 1

Some of the family were found in the parish of St. Austell. "Trevisiek, near Tremarren, is a genteel habitation. For some time this was a seat of a branch of the Moyle family of Bake. " 2

"The manor of Bake belonged anciently to a family of this name, from whom in the reign of Edward III. it passed by a female heir into that of Moyle, which family resided here for many generations. In the reign of Henry VIII. Thomas Moyle of Bake, was Speaker of the House of Commons, and in the seventh of king William, Walter Moyle, who was member for Saltash, distinguished himself by a celebrated speech in support of a bill for the encouragement of seamen. Quitting public life, he spent his time in retirement, and cultivated letters at Bake, where he died in 1721, aged only forty-nine. After his death, his works, consisting of political pamphlets, letters, and critical dissertations, were published in two octavo volumes, to which was prefixed his portrait from the original at Bake. This manor is now the property of Sir Joseph Copley, bart. whose father, Joseph Moyle, Esq. took the name of Copley, on succeeding to a large estate in Yorkshire. He was created a Baronet in 1778. Trewall, another manor in this parish, belongs to this family." 2

Early History of the Muyle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Muyle research. Another 210 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1079, 1142, 1149, 1162, 1200, 1235, 1290, 1312, 1457, 1465, 1480, 1500, 1510, 1535, 1541, 1542, 1544, 1560, 1592, 1600, 1604, 1627, 1641, 1654, 1656, 1660, 1661, 1664, 1671, 1672, 1701, 1721 and 1750 are included under the topic Early Muyle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Muyle Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Moyle, Moil, Moile, Moyles, Muyle and others.

Early Notables of the Muyle family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Sir Walter Moyle (d. 1480), Justice of the Common pleas; John Moyle (1592?-1661), High Sheriff of Cornwall, friend of Sir John Eliot and supporter of the Parliamentarian cause in the Long Parliament; Sir Thomas Moyle (born before 1500-1560), commissioner for Henry VIII in the dissolution of the monasteries, and speaker of the House of Commons in the Parliament of...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Muyle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Muyle family to Ireland

Some of the Muyle family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 128 words (9 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 Muyle family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: David Moyle, who arrived in Virginia in 1666; Dorothy Moyle, who settled in Virginia in 1635; Edward Moyle, who came to Virginia in 1654; Henry Moyle, who came to Virginia in 1715.



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print


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