INGLE
There is a great deal of scholarly interest in the surname Ingle, which finds its roots in the British Isles and reflects a confluence of linguistic influences from both the Old Norse and Old English traditions. It is believed to have originated as an occupational name in the early medieval period, being applied to individuals who displayed qualities reminiscent of an angelic messenger, or who were associated with a fire or hearth in a literal sense.
The Old Norse word engill, meaning “angel” or “messenger,” is cited as the primary source for the surname. In the medieval context, it was often used as a nickname to denote a person considered to possess angelic attributes or to serve as a carrier of important messages. Additionally, the Old English word eng, which translates as “meadow,” suggests a topographic origin for the name, pointing to a possible connection with those who lived near pasturelands. The Old English word ingle – meaning a hearth or fire – may also have contributed to the surname’s occupational derivation, particularly among blacksmiths or other craftsmen who worked close to large fires.
Throughout England and Scotland, the surname has been recorded in a wide array of spellings that have survived in historical documents. Variants such as Englis, Inglis, Inkle, Ingold, Ingoll, Ingall, Ingalls, Hingle and the patronymics Ingelson and Ingilson are attested. The latter forms can be traced back to the pre‑7th‑century Old Norse‑Viking personal name Inqialdr, itself a compound of the elements “ing” (associated with a fertility deity) and “gialdr” (meaning tribute). Medieval inscriptions in the Domesday Book of 1086 also register the forms Ingold, Ingulf and Ingolf, indicating that the name was in use across several counties, notably Yorkshire.
Early documentary evidence confirms that the name was present in the Hundred Rolls of 1272, when a woman named Emma Ingel was recorded in Huntingdonshire. Edmund Ingold appears in the Hundred Rolls of Suffolk in 1274, while Alicia Ingle is listed in the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire in 1379. The name also surfaces in the Friary Rolls of Yorkshire in 1458 under the form Thomas Ingleson, and a later entry records a Thomas Inkle who married on 30 April 1738 at the church of St Catherine by the Tower in London. The breadth of these records illustrates the surname’s persistence through four centuries of English legal and administrative history.
In addition to its widespread use in northern England, the name has a distinct Scottish heritage, linked to the old Barony of Inglewood in Fife and to regions of Angus. Here, Ingle might have been borne by residents of a local hill or slope, an interpretation supported by place‑name studies. More recent migrations have seen bearers of the surname settle in the United Kingdom’s colonies and other English‑speaking realms, resulting in its present‑day prevalence in the United States, Canada and Australia, with concentrations in California, Texas and North Carolina in the United States.
It is worth noting that a surname identical in spelling and pronunciation exists within the Marathi‑speaking communities of Maharashtra in India, where it belongs to an entirely different lineage and lineage has no connection to the English or Norse origins of the surname discussed above.
Altogether, the surname Ingle offers a compelling illustration of how personal names can embody linguistic, occupational, and geographic histories, revealing the layered interactions between Norse settlers, Anglo‑Saxon tribes and later medieval society across the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Ingle surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Robert
Female
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Jacqueline
- Janet
- Joyce
- Karen
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
- Victoria
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Ingle in...
Braille
⠊⠝⠛⠇⠑
Morse
..-.--..-...
Semaphore
There are approximately 2,166 people named Ingle in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,933rd most common surname in Britain. Around 33 in a million people in Britain are named Ingle.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Ingle
- Sophie Ingle - Welsh football player
- Paul Ingle - Boxer
- Reggie Ingle - Cricketer (1903 to 1992)
- Steve Ingle - Football player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.