Doyle Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Doyle Family History

Doyle Family History

The ancient origin of the name Doyle was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Doyle include Dolley, D'Oyle and Doyley. meaning 'Dark Stranger', the Doyles are descendants of the Norsemen who settled along the coast of Ireland in pre-Norman times, and in fact the Doyles are and were always more numerous in areas adjacent to the east coast. The ancestor of the east Leinster Doyles was Dubhgilla, a Norseman, son of Brudar, King of Idrone in County Carlow in the year 851. Though they are now widely distributed it is always in the south-east of Leinster that they are most closely associated. The first bridge over the Liffey in Dublin was constructed by a Doyle. James Doyle, 1786-1834, was Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, being in those times a great champion of the Catholic cause. Doyle in Ulster is found as a synonym of McDowell, who came to Ireland as Gallowglasses from Scotland.The Doyle 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 Doyle descendants.