The Boyle surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 39,921 people carried this name — #866 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,390 people counted. That is up 2% from 39,141 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Boyle surname

As an Irish surname, Anglicised from Irish Ó Baoithghill, possibly a compound of baoth (“vain, foolish”) and geall (“pledge”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Boyle» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 273 births for the Boyle name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 12,100 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Donegal, Antrim, Mayo, Tyrone, Armagh, and Louth.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 189
Connacht 34
Leinster 27
Munster 23

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 122 people named Boyle live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 58
Santa Fe 50
City of Buenos Aires 14

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

31 people named Boyle live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 11
Zurich 11
Geneva 6
Basel-Stadt 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 20 people named Boyle.

Most of them — 15 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Puy-de-Dôme.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 15
Puy-de-Dôme 4
Paris 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

35 people named Boyle is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 35

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland’s registers today

Boyle was recorded 198 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 103rd most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 364. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

68 families named Boyle, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 344 people lived in those households, 5.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 34
Maryland 11
North Carolina 10
Massachusetts 6
Vermont 2
New York 2
South Carolina 2
Connecticut 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 230 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Boyle in American newspapers,
1902–1916.

Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Boyle
The Butte Inter Mountain 1902-08-20
Newspaper page from The Ronan Pioneer carrying the name Boyle
The Ronan Pioneer 1914-10-30
Newspaper page from The Ekalaka Eagle carrying the name Boyle
The Ekalaka Eagle 1916-09-01

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,528 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Boyle in Australian newspapers,
1810s–2000s.

83,122 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Boyle. The most, 14,384, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 25,911
Queensland 19,765
Victoria 18,798
Western Australia 9,239
South Australia 6,162
Tasmania 2,488
ACT (Canberra) 556
Northern Territory 44

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Boyle.

Who carried it

People named Boyle,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork
    Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork 1566–1643 · architect
  • Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery
    Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery 1621–1679 · writer
  • Robert Boyle
    Robert Boyle 1627–1691 · naturalist
  • Roger Boyle, 2nd Earl of Orrery
    Roger Boyle, 2nd Earl of Orrery 1646–1682 · politician
  • Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington
    Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington 1669–1704 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 273 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Boyle,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States13,937 records

13,937 records of the Boyle name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4,749
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3,890
  • Other U.S. records 5,298
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Joseph Boyle

    Born 1947; from Woodland, California. U.S. Navy, seaman; killed in action 1966 in Offshore, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Edward J. Boyle

    Born 1901 in Irish Free State. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; construction laborer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1951, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Boyle

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Furnessia from Glasgow, aged 16; servant. From Donegal, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 13,937 records for Boyle in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,692 records

2,692 records of the Boyle name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,179
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 570
  • Other Australian records 943
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Patrick Boyle

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Blenheim, sailing from Dublin in 1848. Native of Tipperary. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Elizabeth Boyle

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Westmoreland, sailing from Woolwich in 1836. Native of Kerry. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Henry Boyle

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Moffatt, sailing from Portsmouth in 1842. Native of Bristol, Gloucestershire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 2,692 records for Boyle in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada445 records

445 records of the Boyle name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 320
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 40
  • Other Canadian records 85
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Thomas Boyle

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Nesbitt, bound for Port Matton, aged 26.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Th Boyle

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Moravian, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Irvin John Boyle

    Buried in 1968 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 82.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.

Showing 3 of 445 records for Boyle in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom179 records

179 records of the Boyle name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 94
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 63
  • Other British records 22
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Charles Boyle

    Born 1885 at Carnoustie; commercial traveller. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Boyle

    Buried in 1902 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 50.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Boyle

    Buried in 1852 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 41.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 179 records for Boyle in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Ireland86 records

86 records of the Boyle name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Nora Boyle

    Died 1963, aged 45; buried at Carraroe, Williamstown, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary A. Boyle

    Died 1958, aged 63; buried at Dunmore, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Martin Boyle

    Died 1933, aged 71; buried at Clonburn, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 86 records for Boyle in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand62 records

62 records of the Boyle name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 38
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 14
  • Other New Zealand records 10
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Caroline Boyle

    Died 1921, aged 85; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sophie Elizabeth Boyle

    Died 1987, aged 82; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sarah Ann Boyle

    Buried in 1894 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 49.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 62 records for Boyle in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France5 records

5 records of the Boyle name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Michael Scott Boyle

    Born 1962 in the United States; died 1998 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 5 records for Boyle in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Boyle name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Alexander Boyle

    Died 1953 in Rotterdam, aged 42.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Boyle in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Boyle name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Joseph Boyle

    From Lommatzsch-Domselwitz. Reported taken prisoner in the Saxon casualty list of 6 June 1919.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Boyle.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Boyle is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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