Tracing the Basil Family Name

Basil is best understood together with Basile: both are English spellings of a single family name. Name scholars give the meaning as “Descendant of Basil or Basilio (king)”.

• The 2010 US Census counted 2,344 people named Basil, ranking it number 13,088 among American surnames. That is enough to place it in the top 25,000 American surnames.
• Without the “e” of Basile, Basil is a simpler written form of the same name.

Family crest and blazon

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the Basile surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon. For the full story, order the Basil surname pack.