O'Boyle — Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: O Baoighill
Meaning: 'descendant of Baoighill' (baoth, rash + giall, pledge/hostage)
Traditional stronghold: Donegal
Pronunciation: oh-BOYL; Irish O Baoighill: oh BEE-ill
History of the O'Boyle name
O'Boyle derives from O Baoighill, combining baoth, meaning rash or vain, with giall, meaning a pledge or hostage, a compound whose overall sense is not entirely certain but which some interpret as 'profitable pledges' or a bold taker of hostages. The O'Boyles were one of the three great ruling septs of Tirconnell in County Donegal, alongside the O'Donnells and O'Dohertys, holding territory in the west of the county around the Rosses and Boylagh, a barony that still carries their name. Though eclipsed in overall power by the O'Donnells, the O'Boyles remained an influential lordly family into the seventeenth century. The surname remains overwhelmingly a Donegal name today.
Variants: Boyle · O'Boyle
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Gallagher · Boyle · Doherty · Sweeney · O'Donnell · Duffy · McLoughlin · Mooney