What surname was Goober Pyle initially introduced with?

Goober Pyle was initially introduced with the surname Beasley. The character was first referred to as Goober Beasley during the fifth season of The Andy Griffith Show, before the writers changed his surname to Pyle to connect him more directly to Gomer Pyle.

George Lindsey played Goober, a kindly and somewhat slow-witted mechanic who worked at Wally's Filling Station. Gomer, played by Jim Nabors, was already an established character and Goober's cousin. Giving Goober the Pyle surname made that family relationship clearer to the audience and helped establish the version of the character remembered from the show's later episodes.

The change is easy to miss because Goober Pyle is the name used for most of the character's television life, while “Goober Beasley” appears only in the earlier introduction. Goober eventually purchased and ran Wally's gas station, and Lindsey later continued the role on Mayberry R.F.D. and the country variety program Hee Haw.