Kyle is a surname of Scottish origin. It is derived from a placename, likely from Gaelic ''caol'' "narrow, strait" but there are other possible derivations. The name of the Kyle District itself is traditionally attributed to the legendary king

Coel Hen Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

(there are actually no narrows or straights in Ayrshire's Kyle District; c.f.

Coylton Coylton ( sco, Culton) is a village and civil parish in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is east of Ayr and west of Drongan, on the A70. Sundrum Castle Holiday Park is to the west of the village, in the grounds of Sundrum Castle, which partly d ...

). On the geographical origin of those bearing the surname Kyle, by 1881 it occurred most densely in the county of

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

, followed by

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

.Great Britain Family Names website maintained by University College Londo

People with the surname include: * Alexandra Kyle * Andy Kyle, Canadian baseball player * Anne Dempster Kyle(1896-1966), American children's writer * Beatrice Kyle * Benjaman Kyle, American man with retrograde amnesia *

Chris Kyle Christopher Scott Kyle (April 8, 1974 – February 2, 2013) was a United States Navy SEAL sniper. He served four tours in the Iraq War and was awarded several commendations for acts of heroism and meritorious service in combat. He has over 150 c ...

(1974–2013), United States Navy SEAL *

Craig Kyle Craig Paul Kyle (born November 3, 1971) is an American writer for Marvel Comics. He is best known for his creation of the character X-23. He has also produced several of Marvel's direct-to-DVD animated films and worked on several aspects of the ...

, American writer *

David Kyle David A. Kyle (February 14, 1919 – September 18, 2016) was an American science fiction writer and member of science fiction fandom. Professional career Kyle served as a reporter in the Air Force Reserves with the rank of lieutenant colonel, ...

, science fiction writer * Doug Kyle, Canadian long-distance runner *

Duncan Kyle John Franklin Broxholme (11 June 1930 Bradford – 24 June 2000 Bury St Edmunds)Obituary in '' Turun Sanomat'' on 18 July 2000. was an English thriller writer who published fifteen novels in a little over twenty years (1971–1993) using the p ...

* George Kyle (1908–1998), Scottish footballer *

Gunhild Kyle Gunhild Kyle (28 August 1921 – 14 February 2016) was a Swedish historian.Sweden's population 1970, CD-ROM, Version 1.04, Swedish Family Research Association (2002). She was Sweden's first professor of women's history at the University of Gothenbu ...

(1921–2016), Swedish historian * Harry Macdonald Kyle, Scottish

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

and pioneer of

Fisheries science Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, eco ...

. *

Iris Kyle Iris Floyd Kyle (born August 22, 1974) is an African-Indian American professional female bodybuilder. She is currently the most successful female professional bodybuilder ever with seventeen titles including ten overall Ms. Olympia wins (the m ...

, American 10-time overall

Ms. Olympia The IFBB Ms. Olympia is both the highest ranking professional female bodybuilding competition and the title of the winner of the competition. It was first organized in 1980, and was held as part of the Joe Weider's Olympia Fitness & Performance ...

professional bodybuilder *

Jack Kyle John Wilson Kyle, (10 February 1926 – 27 November 2014), commonly referred to as Jack Kyle or Jackie Kyle, was a rugby union player who played for Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s. Kyle is bes ...

(1926–2014), Irish rugby player *

James H. Kyle James Henderson Kyle (February 24, 1854July 1, 1901) was an American politician. One of the most successful members of the Populist Party (United States), Populist Party, he served for 10 years as a member of the United States Senate from South ...

Jason Kyle Jason Campbell Kyle (born May 12, 1972) is a former American football long snapper. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona State. Kyle also played for the Clevel ...

, former American football player *

Jayanthi Kyle Jayanthi Kyle is an American gospel and soul singer/songwriter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota who uses music, song, and storytelling to empower both youth and adults alike. Kyle has been active in more than 11 bands in her career, including Blac ...

, American singer *

Jeremy Kyle Jeremy Kyle (born 7 July 1965) is an English broadcaster and writer. He is known for hosting the tabloid talk show ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' on ITV from 2005 to 2019. He also hosted a US version of his eponymous show, which ran for two seas ...

, British TV and radio presenter, best known for ''

The Jeremy Kyle Show ''The Jeremy Kyle Show'' is a British tabloid talk show presented by Jeremy Kyle and produced by ITV Studios. It premiered on the ITV network on 4 July 2005, and ran for seventeen series until its cancellation on 10 May 2019. It was the most ...

'' *

John C. Kyle John Curtis Kyle (July 17, 1851 – July 6, 1913) was an American attorney and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Mississippi during the late 19th century. He was most notable for his service as mayor of Sardis, Mississip ...

* John J. J. Kyle, Scots-born Argentine scientist * John W. Kyle * Jordan Kyle, American music producer, songwriter and sound engineer *

Kevin Kyle Kevin Alastair Kyle (born 7 June 1981) is a Scottish retired footballer and media personality who played as a centre forward. He played for eleven senior clubs in his career. Kyle gained ten full Scotland international caps and scored one goa ...

* Louisa Venable Kyle (1903–1999), US writer * Maeve Kyle * Mark Kyle, Irish Olympic eventing rider * Penelope W. Kyle *

Peter Kyle (footballer) Peter Kyle (September 1880 – 1961) was a Scottish footballer. Career Born in Rutherglen, Glasgow, Kyle played at centre-forward, first for junior clubs Larkhill and Royal Albert before joining Clyde. Reportedly rejected by Clyde due to hi ...

Peter Kyle (politician) Peter Kyle (born 9 September 1970) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove since 2015. A former charity sector ...

, Labour MP for Hove since 2015 * Scott Kyle, Scottish actor *

Wallace Kyle Air Chief Marshal Sir Wallace Hart Kyle, (22 January 1910 – 31 January 1988) was an Australian who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a senior commander and later as the 24th Governor of Western Australia. Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Aus ...

Fictional characters: * Benjamin Kyle (Babylon 5) *

Selina Kyle Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...

References

{{surname, Kyle English-language surnames