Idle Surname

35,900th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 14,698 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Somalia
Highest density in:
Somalia

Idle Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Idle,' a township and village in the parish of Calverley, West Riding of Yorkshire It is curious to note that while the United States have rejected Idle, and retained the more accurate Idell, they have got a surname Idler, which see.

Read More About This Surname

Idle Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Somalia11,8131:1,139121
Kenya1,3081:35,3063,824
United States5541:654,25852,414
England4481:124,37112,476
Djibouti2251:4,066333
Australia1221:221,27621,136
Canada751:491,27542,011
Israel331:259,32223,464
South Africa271:2,006,58290,678
Sweden191:518,25037,550
New Zealand141:323,45226,435
India101:76,706,538639,611
Somaliland91:388,9091,001
Scotland61:892,30328,047
Denmark41:1,411,17960,800
Bangladesh41:39,839,19317,324
British Virgin Islands31:10,531816
Netherlands31:5,629,059132,535
China21:683,660,78330,601
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
Northern Ireland11:1,845,03620,648
Cambodia11:15,487,14614,824
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Ethiopia11:97,546,26229,669
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
France11:66,422,722504,397
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Nigeria11:177,142,758748,972
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Malaysia11:29,494,225409,885
Haiti11:10,683,90724,607
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland81:553,73317,655
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England4701:51,8626,283
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2061:243,78020,311

Idle (10,647) may also be a first name.

Idle Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Idle,' a township and village in the parish of Calverley, West Riding of Yorkshire It is curious to note that while the United States have rejected Idle, and retained the more accurate Idell, they have got a surname Idler, which see.

Matilda de Ydell, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes de Idill, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire p.

Willelmus de Idill, 1379: ibid.

1549. Baptised — Edward Idle: St. Peter, Cornhill.

1600. William Idill, or Idle, Yorkshire, Register of the University of Oxford.

1647. Baptised — Charles, s. Christopher Idle: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1719-30. John Idell and Ann Washington: Marriage Lic. (Faculty Office).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) 1 Vain, Useless; Lazy [Old English ídel] 2 belonging to Idle (Yorks), 14th cent. Idill [the second element is prob. for Old English hyll, a hill] Idle ‘stands on the acclivity of a hill.’

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

A chapelry in the parish of Calverley, co. York; also a river of Nottinghamshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From Idle, a chapelry co. York, W.R.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

A location name in Yorkshire.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Idle Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Idle Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Idle has its highest incidence in Somalia. It can be found in the variant forms:. Click here for further possible spellings of Idle.

How Common Is The Last Name Idle? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 35,900th most common surname globally, borne by approximately 1 in 495,819 people. Idle occurs mostly in Africa, where 91 percent of Idle are found; 91 percent are found in East Africa and 90 percent are found in Cushitic Africa. Idle is also the 58,749th most numerous given name at a global level, held by 10,647 people.

This last name is most commonly held in Somalia, where it is carried by 11,813 people, or 1 in 1,139. Apart from Somalia this surname exists in 36 countries. It also occurs in Kenya, where 9 percent reside and The United States, where 4 percent reside.

Idle Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Idle has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Idle surname increased 269 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it fell 5 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it increased 600 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Idle Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those carrying the Idle last name is primarily Anglican (100%) in Ireland and Muslim (100%) in Kenya.

In The United States those holding the Idle last name are 26.05% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 72.82% registered with the political party.

The amount Idle earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 154.77% more than the national average, earning R 605,424 per year; in United States they earn 1.6% less than the national average, earning $42,458 USD per year and in Canada they earn 10.57% less than the national average, earning $44,432 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Eidle892,234/
Idler891,843/
Idele891,303/
Idleh891,129/
Hidle89544/
Idile8968/
Idlet8961/
Idles8948/
Idley8940/
Idyle8936/
Idlle899/
Gidle898/
Jidle896/
Yidle895/
Iddle893/
Idlee891/
Idhle891/
Isdle890/
Aidle890/
Gidley802,786/
Haidle80833/
Eidler80735/
Eidleh80548/
Heidle80332/
Iddles80319/
Idlett80244/
Hidley8087/
Hiddle8072/
Hidler8064/
Aidley8051/
Idylle8044/
Ideale8037/
Jidele8027/
Aidler8019/
Hidele8014/
Giddle8012/
Aidele809/
Eidley806/
Jidler805/
Ideele804/
Idelle804/
Ijdele804/
Aidlee804/
Hiedle803/
Goidle802/
Jidley801/
Iddile801/
Ideile801/
Aidhle801/
Iduile801/
Idller801/
Idijle801/
Hidlie801/
Yidler801/
Gaidle801/
Iedlee801/
Huidle800/
Eidlet800/
Oidler800/
Eiddle800/
Idlest800/
Idli751,343/
Edle75881/
Idla75139/
Udle7596/
Idly756/
Idlj751/
Heidler733,324/
Haidley73296/
Haidler73160/
Gidelle7387/
Giddley7341/
Idlehit7313/
Idehele736/
Hiddler733/
Heidele732/
Eidlesz731/
Eidletz731/
Aidelhe731/
Heidley731/
Eidelei731/
Ideller731/
Idiller731/
Hidelle731/
Haidleh731/
Hiddles730/
Isdaile730/
Huidley730/
Hiedley730/
Eidaile730/
Edler678,885/
Hudle672,212/
Edley67857/
Edele67734/
Aidli67595/
Gedle67492/
Edles67333/
Hidli67196/
Edile67187/
Idloy67145/
Hydle67126/
Eedle67120/
Aidla67119/
Eadle67113/
Ideal67106/
Ydler6775/
Eidly6773/
Gidli6743/
Jidla6741/
Yidla6737/
Idlis6727/
Hidly6719/
Idhil6718/
Édler6717/
Idoil6716/
Udley6711/
Idlai6710/
Idlip6710/
Idlay679/
Iddla677/
Hedle677/
Idlehead677/
Yidli676/
Edlet676/
Idail676/
Eddle674/
Edleh674/
Edlle673/
Uddle672/
Udhle672/
Idlla672/
Idhel672/
Eidla672/
Edlge672/
Jidli671/
Ijdla671/
Êdele671/
Aidjl671/
Aidly671/
Udlee671/
Yodle671/
Idlyi671/
Eudle670/
Gidly670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Idle
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis