Quayle

This article is about the surname. For the bird, see Quail.

Quayle is a surname of Anglo-Celtic origin, specifically English, Irish, Manx and Scottish.[1][2]

When the name originates from Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland, it is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac Phàil (Scottish) Mac Pháil (Irish) Mac Phóil (Irish) "Mac Phaayl" (Manx) meaning "son of Pàil/Páill/Póil/Paayl". These are Gaelic patronymic forms of the personal name Paul.[1] When originating in Ireland, the name is sometimes a variant of the surname Quill.[1] When of English origin, the surname can be derived from the Old French/Middle English quaille, meaning "quail".[3] In this way, the name would be used as a nickname for a timorous or lecherous person – words that describe this species of bird.[1] The name is recorded in the Isle of Man as MacFayle in 1511 and MacQuayle, Quayle in 1540.[3] The name is recorded in England as Quayle in 1327.[3]

  1. ^ a b c d "Quail Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  2. ^ "Quayle Name Meaning and History". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  3. ^ a b c Reaney, Percy Hilde; Wilson, Richard Middlewood (2006). A Dictionary of English Surnames (PDF) (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. p. 2563. ISBN 0-203-99355-1.