Show ContentsRandles History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The history of the Randles name began with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from the baptismal name Randel. In this case the surname Randles was a diminutive of the personal name Rand, a short form of various German names with the first element rand meaning shield or wolf. 1

Alternatively, the name was derived from the name of an ancestor as in 'the son of Randolph,' from the nickname Randle. As such, the earliest records of the family were as a forename as in Randle de Arclet, Cheshire, temp. 1290. 2

Early Origins of the Randles family

The surname Randles was first found in the parish of Ladock in Cornwall. "Hay, which was formerly deemed a genteel residence, was successively a seat of the families of Randyll, Tregain, and Bone." 3

Early History of the Randles family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Randles research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1436, 1570, 1581, 1587, 1592, 1598, 1622, 1758, 1781, 1799, 1815, 1822 and 1856 are included under the topic Early Randles History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Randles 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 Randles family name include Randall, Rendle, Randal, Rendel, Rendell and others.

Early Notables of the Randles family

Notables of the family at this time include John Randall (1570-1622), English divine, born at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire who was sent at the early age of eleven to St. Mary Hall, Oxford, where he matriculated on 27 Nov. 1581. He was elected a fellow of Lincoln College on 6 July 1587. "On the occasion of Queen Elizabeth's visit to Oxford, in August 1592, Randall was appointed to 'frame and oversee the stage for the academical performance given' in her honour." 4 William Randall (fl. 1598) was an English musician and is included by Meres in his list of England's 'excellente musitians.'John...
Another 187 words (13 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Randles Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Randles Ranking

In the United States, the name Randles is the 10,579th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Ireland Migration of the Randles family to Ireland

Some of the Randles family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 34 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Randles family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Randles surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Philip Randall, his wife and their three children, who arrived in Dorchester, MA in 1633; John Randall, who arrived in Virginia in 1635; Phillip and Robert Randall, who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1639.


Contemporary Notables of the name Randles (post 1700) +

  • Kerri Lee Randles (b. 1971), American actress, writer and producer
  • Carl A. Randles Jr., American politician, Candidate in primary for Circuit Judge in Michigan 9th Circuit, 1974 6
  • Bill Randles, American Republican politician, Candidate in primary for Governor of Missouri, 2012 6
  • Thomas "Tommy" Randles (b. 1940), former English footballer
  • Joshua "Jos" Randles (1865-1925), English footballer
  • Jan Randles, Australian gold medalist Paralympic athletics competitor
  • Elizabeth Randles (1801-1829), Welsh harpist and pianist, known as "the Little Cambrian Prodigy", she began playing at the age of two at the Wrexham theatre; when she was three, she played before King George III and Queen Charlotte
  • Sir John Scurrah Randles (1875-1945), British businessman and Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for Cockermouth (1900-1906) and (1906-1910)

HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Leslie Randles, British Petty Officer Supply, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and died in the sinking 7


The Randles Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nil extra numerum
Motto Translation: Nothing out of time.


  1. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Hutchins, Fortescue, The History of Cornwall, from the Earliest Records and Traditions to the Present Time. London: William Penaluna, 1824. Print
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  7. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html


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