This interesting surname of Scottish and English origin with variant spellings Youles, Youels, Youlles, etc., is a nickname for someone who was born on Christmas Day or had some other connection with this time of year, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "geol", Old Norse "jol" meaning "yule, Christmas". This was originally the name of a pagan midwinter festival, which was later appropriated by the Christian Church for celebration of the birth of Christ. The suffix "s" denotes "son of". The surname dates back to the late 12th Century (see below). Further recordings include one William Yoel (1297), the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, and Robert Youle (1379), the Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire. Church Recordings include one William Youle who married Elizabeth Cook on November 16th 1579 at St. Margaret's, Westminster, and Mary Youlles married Edwin Augustus Marvilt on August 27th 1833 at St. Clement Danes, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Yol, which was dated 1199, in the "Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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