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VAIL Family History

This interesting and long-established surname is of Old French origin, and has four distinct possible sources. Firstly, Vail may be an occupational name for a watchman, deriving from the Anglo-Norman French "veil(le)", Old French "de la veille", "of the watch, watchman", ultimately from the Latin "vigilia", watch, wakefulness. The surname from this source first appears on record in the early part of the 12th Century (see below). Other early examples include: Richard la Veyle (Essex, 1242), and Geoffrey de Veel (Somerset, 1256).