Carmel Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestry of the name Carmel dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in or near the village of Cartmel in the county of Lancashire (now part of Cumbria.) 1 Thus, Carmel is a habitation surname which is derived from the name of a place. Like most English local surnames, the name Carmel was originally preceded by a preposition such as de. However, the preposition had usually been dropped from the name by the end of the 14th century. "The Staffordshire variants of this surname seem to have come from North Lancashire via Cheshire." 2

One source notes: "Cartmell was the name of four tenants in Garstang in the reign of James I." 3

And another sources adds this anecdote: "The signification of this name apparently has reference to the famous passage - at low water - across the Leven sands. The guides over the sands are, or were, called carters, passengers generally being conveyed in carts." 4

Early Origins of the Carmel family

The surname Carmel was first found in Lancashire, at Cartmel, a parish, in the union of Ulverston, hundred of Lonsdale north of the Sands. "This place, which is supposed to have derived its name from the British words Kert, a camp, and mell, a fell, or small mountain, according to Camden was given to St. Cuthbert, in 677, by Egfrid, King of Northumbria, with all the Britons inhabiting it. In 782, Ethelred, upon his restoration to the throne of that kingdom, allured from their sanctuary at York the sons of Alfwold, who had been advanced to the crown upon his expulsion, and put them to death at Cartmel. In 1188, William Mareschall, Earl of Pembroke, founded a priory for Regular canons of the order of St. Augustine, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and endowed it with all his lands at 'Kertmell,' " 5 Now a village in Cumbria, it has more recently become known as the "home of sticky toffee pudding."

Early rolls listed: Vckeman de Kertmel in the Pipe Rolls for Lancashire in 1188; William de Kertmel in the Assize Rolls for Lancashire in 1260; and William Cartmett in Yorkshire in 1438; and Peter Cartmayle in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1504. 6

Early History of the Carmel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carmel research. Another 117 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1306, 1378, 1563, 1578, 1648, 1664, 1673, 1681, 1701, 1748 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Carmel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carmel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Carmel have been found, including Cartmill, Cartmills, Cartmell, Cartmells, Kertmell, Cartmele, Cartmail, Kartmill, Kartmell, Certmill, Cartnell and many more.

Early Notables of the Carmel family

More information is included under the topic Early Carmel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Carmel family to Ireland

Some of the Carmel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 198 words (14 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carmel migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Carmel, or a variant listed above:

Carmel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Neal Carmel, who was naturalized in Philadelphia in 1841

Contemporary Notables of the name Carmel (post 1700) +

Sylvester Carmel Magro (1941-2018), Maltese prelate, Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi (1997–2016)
Stephnie Carmel Weir (b. 1967), American actress, comedienne, and writer
Major-General Lawrence Carmel Jaynes (1891-1977), American Special Assistant to Chief of Staff US Army (1950-1953) 7
John Carmel Heenan (1905-1975), English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Westminster
Carmel McLure, Australian jurist, President of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (1997-)
Carmel H. Booth, American politician, Mayor of San Anselmo, California, 1952 8
Carmel McSharry (b. 1925), Irish character actress, best known for her roles as Beryl Humphries in Beryl's Lot (1973–1977)
Carmel Mary Tebbutt (b. 1964), Australian politician, 15th Deputy Premier of New South Wales (2008-2011), Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council (1998-2005)
Carmel Robichaud, Canadian politician and retired teacher, Minister of Local Government (2007-2008), Minister of Family and Community Services (2006-2007)
Carmel Anne Maher (b. 1954), Australian politician, Member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1991

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 30) Lawrence Jaynes. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Jaynes/Lawrence_Carmel/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, April 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html