Owler Family History

Probably sometimes a variant of Alder from Middle English and Older Scots aller (Old English alor) ‘alder tree’. The development to Middle English oller early Modern English ouller owler is recorded in place-names and dialect vocabulary in the W Midlands, N Midlands, and N England.

It appears as ouler in a late 17th-century Scottish text. In Angus, it may alternatively be a local pronunciation of Howley (2) of Irish origin.

At least one of the 19th-century Howley families there appears to be from Ireland. In N England, perhaps also from a local pronunciation of Howley (1), a native Lancs or WR Yorks name.