Viles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Viles is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest in 1066. It is a name for a calf-heard which was in turn derived from the Old French word veel, meaning calf.

Early Origins of the Viles family

The surname Viles was first found in Gloucestershire where two knights by the name De Vile were honored in the Honour Roll of Battle Abbey in 1066 and were granted lands in that shire.

In later years, to the far south in Cornwall another branch of the family was found. "Trevayler, in [the parish of Gulval], is the property and residence of the Rev. William Veale, in whose family it has long been vested. This gentleman has considerable property in Gulval." 1

Early History of the Viles family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Viles research. Another 58 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Viles History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Viles Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Veale, Veal, Viall, Vile, Viell and others.

Early Notables of the Viles family

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

Viles Ranking

In the United States, the name Viles is the 17,501^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Viles family to Ireland

Some of the Viles family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Viles migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Viles name or one of its variants:

Viles Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Viles, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 3

Viles Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Isaac Viles, who arrived in New York in 1841 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Viles (post 1700) +

Max C. Viles, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Maine State House of Representatives from Somerset County (5th), 1931-32 4
G. D. Viles, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1908 4
Mrs. C. W. Viles, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 1956 4
Blaine Spooner Viles (b. 1879), American Republican politician, Mayor of Augusta, Maine, 1915-16; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 1920; Member of Maine State House of Representatives, 1921 4

Citations +

Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
"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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html