Boyle / / Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Boyle / / Family History

Boyle / / Family History

The family history of the ancient name Boyle was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Boyle is an Irish surname meaning 'having profitable pledges'. In old Irish the name is Baigell. The O'Boyles are of true Irish descent and had a strong sept in County Donegal, with the chieftain situated at Cloghineely. They shared the leadership with the O'Donnells and the O'Doughertys. Ballyweel, in Donegal, means home of the O'Boyles. The more famous Boyles were of the Anglo-Saxon race. One Richard Boyle who landed in 1588, was the first colonial millionaire, and acquired most of the property of the executed Sir Walter Raleigh in County Wexford.The Boyle family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Boyle descendants.