Find out how popular the last name Iles is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Iles.

Iles, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Iles surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Iles in America

Iles is the 10819th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Iles surname appeared 2,944 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Iles.

We can also compare 2010 data for Iles to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Iles

The surname ILES is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "ileg" or "ile," meaning an island or a meadow. It likely emerged as a habitational name, referring to someone who lived on an island or in a meadow.

The name first appeared in records dating back to the 12th century, with early spellings including "Ile," "Yle," and "Iley." One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1176, which mentions a William de Ile.

The Domesday Book of 1086 includes several references to places with the name "Ile" or similar spellings, suggesting that the surname may have originated from these locations. For example, it mentions "Ila" in Dorset and "Ile" in Somerset.

Notable historical figures with the surname ILES include William Iles (c. 1605-1677), an English clergyman and author, and Henry Iles (1839-1924), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire.

In the 16th century, the surname was sometimes spelled "Isles," as evidenced by Thomas Isles (c. 1530-1594), an English composer and organist. This variation likely arose due to the association with the word "isle" or "island."

Another noteworthy individual was Sir John Iles (1608-1648), an English lawyer and politician who served as Chief Baron of the Exchequer during the English Civil War. He was born in Wiltshire and attended the University of Oxford.

In the 18th century, William Iles (1741-1823) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead.

The surname ILES has also been found in various place names throughout England, such as Ilesborough in Somerset and Iley in Berkshire, further indicating its longstanding presence in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Iles

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Iles.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Iles was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Iles has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Iles was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Iles, please contact us.

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