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An excerpt from www.HouseOfNames.com archives copyright © 2000 - 2012

Origins Available: English, Scottish

Where did the English Cornell family come from? What is the English Cornell family crest and coat of arms? When did the Cornell family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the Cornell family history?

The illustrious surname Cornell finds its origin in the rocky, sea swept coastal area of southwestern England known as Cornwall. Although surnames were fairly widespread in medieval England, people were originally known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted is extremely interesting. As populations grew, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Lords and their tenants often became known by the name of the feudal territory they owned or lived on. 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 Cornell is a local type of surname and the Cornell family lived in the county of Cornwall in southwest England.

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Cornish 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 Cornwall, Cornelle, Cornell, Cornwell, Cornewall, Cornal, Cornale, Cornevale, Carnwell, Carnewell, Carnville, Carnevale, Cornhall, Cornehall, Cornhale, Cornwale, Curnow (from native Cornish word) and many more.

First found in Devon where they held a family seat from very ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.


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This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cornell research. Another 256 words(18 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1513, 1601, 1748, and 1819 are included under the topic Early Cornell History in all our PDF Extended History products.

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More information is included under the topic Early Cornell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products.

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An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Cornell:

Cornell Settlers in the United States in the 17th Century


  • Richard Cornell who settled in Rhode Island in 1630
  • Thomas Cornell settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1630
  • Thomas Cornell, who landed in Boston, Mass in 1636
  • Cornelius Cornell, who landed in Maryland in 1668

Cornell Settlers in the United States in the 18th Century


  • John Cornell, who arrived in Virginia in 1702
  • George Cornell settled in South Carolina in 1716
  • Morix Cornell, who arrived in New York, NY in 1782

Cornell Settlers in the United States in the 19th Century


  • Paul Cornell, aged 24, landed in New York in 1800
  • James Cornell, aged 28, arrived in New York in 1812
  • Walter Cornell, aged 30, arrived in New York in 1812
  • Margaret Cornell, who landed in New York in 1846
  • W Cornell, who arrived in San Francisco, Cal in 1850


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  • Sheila Cornell, American softball player
  • Katherine Cornell (1898-1974), American actress
  • Alonzo Barton Cornell (1832-1904), New York politician, Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882
  • Eric Allin Cornell (b. 1961), American Nobel prize-winning (2001) physicist
  • Ezra Cornell (1807-1874), American businessman, co-founder of Cornell University
  • Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), American artist and sculptor


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  • A Cornell Family History: from County Essex, England to Winneshiek County, Iowa by C. C. Cornell.
  • A Cornell-Hartwell Genealogy: 1302 Years of Family History, Including 348 Years in Westchester County by Stephen Wood Cornell.
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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: La Vie Durante
Motto Translation: During life.

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  1. Le Patourel, John. The Norman Empire. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-19-822525-3).
  2. Browning, Charles H. Americans of Royal Descent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
  3. Marcharn, Frederick George. A Constitutional History of Modern England 1485 to the Present. London: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Print.
  4. Bowman, George Ernest. The Mayflower Reader A Selection of Articales from The Mayflower Descendent. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing. Print.
  5. Thirsk, Joan. The Agrarian History of England and Wales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 7 Volumes. Print.
  6. Filby, P. William and Mary K Meyer. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index in Four Volumes. Detroit: Gale Research, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8).
  7. Burke, Sir Bernard. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry: Including American Families with British Ancestry. (2 Volumes). London: Burke Publishing, 1939. Print.
  8. MacAulay, Thomas Babington. History of England from the Accession of James the Second 4 volumes. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1879. Print.
  9. Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8).
  10. Samuelsen, W. David. New York City Passenger List Manifests Index 1820 - 1824. North Salt Lake, Utah: Accelerated Indexing Systems International, 1986. Print.
  11. ...

The Cornell Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Cornell Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.

This page was last modified on 20 October 2011 at 21:53.

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