SOLES
Soles is a surname of English origin, deriving from the Old English word sol which means muddy ground or swamp. It is a locational surname, typically adopted by someone who lived near or worked in such terrain. Early medieval records situated the name in Kent and Surrey, indicating that bearers were identified with particular tracts of land characterised by their sodden condition.
Early surviving documents mention the name in several forms. In 1207 the census records William de la Sole of Sussex, followed by Hamo de Soles of Kent in 1242, and Thomas atte Sole of Surrey in 1294. The very first documented spelling appears as Osbert Sole in the Curia Regis Rolls of Norfolk dated 1203, during the reign of King John. These entries demonstrate that the surname was well established by the early twelfth century.
Another line of derivation stems from Old French, where the word sol or soul (borrowed from Latin solus) denotes one or alone. In medieval England this form was adopted as a nickname for an unmarried or solitary individual, or as a descriptor of personal temperament. The Hundred Rolls of Essex record a Geofrey le Soule in 1274, illustrating the French influence on the spelling. The botanist William Sole (1741‑1802) famous for his work *Menthae Britannicae* further demonstrates the continued use of the name through the eighteenth century.
Over the centuries the spelling of the surname has evolved into a variety of forms, including Soles, Solesbury, Sowles, Sole, and Sowell. While the name is also found in the United States, particularly in states with significant Hispanic populations, and in parts of Latin America, the underlying English origin remains the most extensively documented. The surname typifies the medieval practice of deriving family names from physical features of the landscape or from occupational or personal characteristics, a pattern that persists in many contemporary surnames.
Typical given names associated with the Soles surname
Male
- Alastair
- David
- Duncan
- Glyn
- Graham
- John
- Julian
- Kevin
- Peter
- Titus
Female
- Amanda
- Beverley
- Claire
- Dominique
- Doreen
- Gwendoline
- Jacqueline
- Jennifer
- Sally
- Sarah
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 Soles in...
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There are approximately 81 people named Soles in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around one in a million people in Britain are named Soles.
