This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: meaning of Towle
[...TOULSON (Eng.) Patronym of TOWLE, from the Middle English given name "Toll", Old English "Toll", or Old Norse "Toli". TOWLE is mostly from Nottinghamshire....]

[...TUATHAL [tool] comes from tuatha, territories--meaning one possessed of "large landed property;" it is the root of the sirnames Toole, O'Toole, Tootal, Tolan, etc....]

I've checked the www.behindthename.com database and those that are closest, were Tolly and Toal. Tolly is a pet form of Bartholomew and Toal was an anglicized form of Tuathal. I guess Tuathal/Toal are not related to the given name Toll. Toll is thus probably from Bartholomew.
vote up1vote down

Replies

According to the Oxford Dictionary of Surnames (1997), Towle is indeed from Toll:

either from Old English "toll"
or from Old Norse: pet form of Thorleifr (the god Thor + life) or Thorleikr Thor + ?)

The dictionary also mentions a dialectical word "toll" for a clump of trees.

Andy ;—)
vote up1vote down