The name Byles name can be traced as far back as 685 AD. Ref: ["Surnames of Scotland, Their Origin and Meaning and History"]. Also found in Somerset, where they held a family seat from ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

It is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who works as a maker of pole arms or halberds and billhooks as these were common weapons in early times. The name could also be a baptismal name derived from son of William, although this latter origin is less likely.
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames Over tie years, many variations of the name Bytes were recorded, including Bill, Bills, Billes , Biles, Bailie, Byles and others,

To escape oppression and starvation at that time many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities In droves people migrated to the many British Colonies, those in North America in particular paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships.

Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States .

Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Byles family emigrated to North America: James Bill who settled in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1638; and was made a freeman in that year. Thomas Bill settled in Boston in 1657, The Bills became a distinguished family. William Byles, b. Abt. 1644; d. March 19, 1709/10, Falls, Bucks County, PA. Josias Byles was born 1656 in Winchester, Hants, England, and died 1707 in USA.

Others went to Australia, Jamaica and New Zealand : James Hodge Byles I, went to Jamaica about 1790, He was a property owner, Sugar Planter, Lawyer and Hon. Major in the Army. Cyril Beuzeville Byles  to Australia born August 17, 1871 in England, and died November 19, 1952 in Australia.

Some of The Byles Family documented on this site are:  John Byles, 1640 yeoman, Combs, Sussex England; Alexander Byles 1595 of Dorchester, England; Josias Byles 1656 of Winchester, Hants, England; and Nathaniel Byles, of St. Helen's Parish, Ipswich  (1702-1755). Herein are voluminous branches, involving some  96,545 entries covering over 3000 individuals,  spanning 13 generations with over 650 surnames. 

The late Rev. FJ. Hampden-Cook (d. 1932), a well-known Congregational Scholar and Preacher, who was distantly related to the Byles family who also spent an immense amount of time and labour in search through contemporary records, came to the conclusion, shortly before his death, that Nathaniel Byles of Ipswich was the son of Nathaniel Byles of Combs and Finborough, near Stowmarket, and grandson of John Byles, yeoman, of Finborough, "almost certainly identical" with Jean Bailie, a Huguenot Refugee naturalized in 1688. Mr. Hampden-Cook will be remembered as part Editor & Reviser of Dr.Weymouth's  "New Testament in Modern Speech," and sometime Resident Secretary of Mill Hill School.

Some notable family members are ;Jeremiah Byles of Ipswich (1733-1790), was the father of Nathaniel Byles, who married a Henley cousin; and of John Byles, father of Sir John Barnard Byles, Judge and Author of numerous legal publications, ie; 'Law of the Bills of Exchange' which has since become the standard work on this branch of law.  You will find the Maynard and Unwin connections; John Curtis Byles (1773-1833), who carried on the Henley succession; James Hodge Byles (1774-1837), the Jamaican  Lawyer & sugar planter; and Henry Nathaniel Byles(1780-1848), husband of Elizabeth Fox, father of Thomas Fox Byles of Thamesfield. Other Notable members include Sir William Pollard Byles; William Byles, Founder of 'The Bradford Observer', Rev. Father Thomas Roussel Byles who perished on the 'Titanic' while giving absolutions to passengers on deck.