The surname "Lyall" is found early in Scotland and was derived from the Old Norse given name "Liulfr", where "ulfr" means Wolf. After the Viking settlement in Scotland name sounds would have changed. For example, "Liulfr" is pronounced 'lee-oolv-ur', but after time probably softened in pronunciation to 'lee-ooler' and then 'loo-il' and finally 'lyall' after the Old Norse "R" was dropped off the end. The Lyall Clan is a Sept of Clan Sinclair a Highland Scottish clan of Norman origin a people descended from Norse Vikings who held lands in the north of Scotland, the Orkney Islands, and the Lothians.

Notable people with the surname Lyall include:

• Alfred Comyn Lyall (1835–1911), British civil servant and poet
• Bill Lyall (1941–2021), Canadian politician
• Billy Lyall (1953–1989), Scottish musician with the band Pilot
• Charles James Lyall (1845–1920), English civil servant working in India
• Charles Ross Lyall (1880–1950), British career soldier and cricketer
• David Lyall (1817–1895), Scottish botanist
• Gavin Lyall (1932–2003), English author of espionage novels
• Geoffrey Lyall (born 1949), bass player for the Dead Kennedys
• George Lyall Sr. (1779–1853), Chairman of the Honourable East India Company
• Graeme Lyall (born 1942), Australian musician, composer and arranger
• James Lyall (minister) (1827–1905), Presbyterian minister in South Australia.
• James Broadwood Lyall (1838–1916), administrator in the Indian Civil Service, brother of Sir Alfred
• John Edwardes Lyall (1811–1845), British lawyer, Advocate-General of Bengal, son of George Lyall
• Laura Muntz Lyall (1860–1930), Canadian impressionist painter
• Paul Lyall (1944–2021), British para table tennis player
• Sarah Lyall (born c. 1963), American journalist in England
• William Lyall (disambiguation)

See also

• Lyall (disambiguation)
• Lyall (name)
• Charles Lyell (1797–1875), British lawyer and geologist