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![Show Contents]() Shappell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Cornwall in southwestern England provides the original birthplace of the surname Shappell. As populations grew, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used local surnames. This was due to the heavy political and cultural influence of the English upon the Cornish People at the time that surnames first came into use. Local surnames were derived from where a person lived, held land, or was born. While many Cornish surnames of this sort appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames derived from lost or unrecorded place names. The name Shappell history began in Yorkshire, at Shipley. Early Origins of the Shappell familyThe surname Shappell was first found in the county of Cornwall where they held a family seat from very ancient times. Early History of the Shappell familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shappell research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1607, 1608 and 1613 are included under the topic Early Shappell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Shappell Spelling VariationsCornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Sharpley, Shapley, Shapleigh, Sharply, Shapell, Shaple, Sharple and many more. Early Notables of the Shappell familyAnother 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shappell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Shappell familyA search of the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Shappell: Nicholas Shapliegh of Devonshire settled in Boston in 1635. James Shapley arrived in Pennsylvania in 1878; Charles Sharpley settled in Boston in 1765.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Shappell (post 1700) | + |
- F. B. Shappell, American politician, Independent Candidate for burgess of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, 1906 1
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