Show ContentsAppell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The German surname Appell emerged in the lands that formed the modern state of Lower Saxony, which is presently bordered by the North Sea, the Hartz mountains and the Elbe and Ems rivers. German surnames developed at a time when Lower Saxony, and most of the German provinces, were states of the Holy Roman Empire. At first people used only a single name, but as the population grew and people began to travel, they began to find it necessary to take on an additional name to differentiate themselves. Fairly general principles guided the development of hereditary surnames in Lower Saxony. Two of the common types of family names found in the Prussia are patronymic surnames, which are derived from the father's given name, and metronymic surnames, which are derived from the mother's given name. The surname Appell derived from the German personal name Adalbert, which is itself is linked to the German name Adelad, which means noble and resolute.

Early Origins of the Appell family

The surname Appell was first found in East Friesland and the Lueneburg region, where the name emerged in mediaeval times as one of the notable families of the region. From the 13th century the surname was identified with the great social and economic evolution which made this territory a landmark contributor to the development of the nation. From early on, the family owned the estates Masendorf, Midelum, and Albrumswehe in East Friesland. There were three Abbots of this line, of the cloister Ebstorff, who lived between 1574 and 1703. Also, in 1554 Anton von Appel was an Abbot of the cloister St. Michaelis in Lueneburg.

Early History of the Appell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Appell research. Another 150 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1628, 1686, 1724, 1790 and 1792 are included under the topic Early Appell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Appell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Appell, Apel, Apell, Appel, Apele, Appelle, Appelman and many more.

Early Notables of the Appell family

Notables of the time included

  • Johann Nepomuk Appell, the Mayor of Ingolstadt and was ennobled in 1790

Appell Ranking

In the United States, the name Appell is the 15,938th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Appell migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Appell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Arien Appell, who arrived in New York state in 1664
  • Arien Appell, who landed in New York in 1664 2
Appell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Christian Appell, who landed in New York, NY in 1782 2
  • Henri Appell, who arrived in Charles Town S.C. in 1782

Contemporary Notables of the name Appell (post 1700) +

  • David Appell (1922-2014), American musician, musical arranger and record producer


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook