Ryle is an English surname usually traced to the village of Royle in Lancashire, whose name means "rye hill", from the Old English ryge and hyll. As a first name it is very recent and sounds like a blend of Kyle and Riley; the philosopher Gilbert Ryle is the best-known bearer of the surname. Ryle was outside the top 13,000 as recently as 2015, climbed through the 4,000s in the early 2020s and jumps to number 2,710 in 2025, its best rank, with 48 births.