Show ContentsChelle Surname History

Chelle is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the township of Chell, in the parish of Wolstanton, union of Wolstanton and Burslem, N. division of the hundred of Pirehill in Staffordshire. 1 The surname Chelle belongs to the category of habitation names, which were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Chelle family

The surname Chelle was first found in Staffordshire, at one of the two townsteads, called Great or Little Chell. 2 "The village, which is seated on an eminence, and on the road from Newcastle to Congleton, is chiefly occupied by potters. " 1

"In the 13th century there were persons of the name of Chelle in Warwickshire, and of the names of Chel and Chele in Norfolk and Lincolnshire." 2

Early History of the Chelle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Chelle research. Another 185 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1524, 1532, 1535, 1545, 1550, 1554, 1711 and 1768 are included under the topic Early Chelle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Chelle Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Chelle family name include Chell, Chel, Chelle, Chele, Chelley, Chellie and others.

Early Notables of the Chelle family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

  • William Chell or Chelle (fl. 1550), Precentor of Hereford who took the degree of Mus...

Migration of the Chelle family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Chelle surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Joseph Chel, who arrived in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1766.



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.


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