Show ContentsInkel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Inkel surname is an English name with Norse roots, deriving from either of two Old Norse personal names "Ingjaldr," or from "Ingólfr" ‘Ing's wolf’ (Ing was an ancient Germanic fertility god). Some instances of this name in Britain are thought to have evolved from the place name Ingol, in Lancashire, which is named from the Old English personal name Inga with the Old English word "holh," meaning a "hollow," or "depression." Another source claims the name was derived from "a Scandinavian personal name, retained in the designations of Ingleby, Inglesham, Ingleton, Ingoldsthorpe, Ingoldsby, and other parishes and places, lying chiefly in what are called the Danish counties. The Domesday form is Ingaldus. " 1

Early Origins of the Inkel family

The surname Inkel was first found in Suffolk at Bury St. Edmunds where Ingold was recorded c. 1095. The Latin form Ingoldus was recorded in Huntingdonshire (1114-1130.) 2

Early Somerset or Huntingdonshire was where some the first recordings of the family were listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, specifically Edmund Ingold, in Somerset and Cecilia de Ingolde in Huntingdonshire. 3

The Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379 included entries for Alicia Ingle; Johannes Ingill; Robertus Ingill; Willelmus Ingill; and Agnes Ingilson. 3

Early History of the Inkel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Inkel research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Inkel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Inkel Spelling Variations

Sound and intuition were the main things that scribes in the Middle Ages relied on when spelling and translating names. Since those factors varied, so did the spelling of the names. Spelling variations of the name Inkel include Ingle, Ingall, Ingalls, Ingal, Ingals, Ingull, Ingulls, Inggall, Inggalls, Ingold, Ingolds, Ingles, Ingoll, Ingolls, Ingill and many more.

Early Notables of the Inkel family

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

Migration of the Inkel family

In North America, the monarchy was thousands of miles away and Scots were free to settle on their own land and practice their own beliefs. The American War of Independence provided an opportunity for these settlers to pay back the English monarchy and forge a new nation. Recently, this heritage has survived through North American highland games and Clan societies. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing the name Inkel or a variant listed above: William Ingull who settled in Barbados in 1685; Thomas Ingall settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1798; Edmond and Francis Ingalls settled in Lynn Massachusetts in 1635.


Contemporary Notables of the name Inkel (post 1700) +

  • Jeremy Inkel (b. 1983), Canadian electronic musician and keyboard player


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)


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