Contents [hide]

Cornwell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Cornwell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

Among the earliest people to bear the Cornwell name were the Cornwell family, who lived in the county of Cornwall in southwest England.

Early Origins of the Cornwell family

The surname Cornwell was first found in Devon, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, long before the Norman Conquest in 1066.

Early History of the Cornwell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cornwell research. Another 191 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1180, 1513, 1601 and 1797 are included under the topic Early Cornwell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cornwell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Cornwall, Cornelle, Cornell, Cornwell, Cornewall, Cornal, Cornale, Cornevale, Carnwell, Carnewell, Carnville, Carnevale, Cornhall, Cornehall, Cornhale, Cornwale, Curnow (from native Cornish word) and many more.

Early Notables of the Cornwell family

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

Cornwell Ranking

In the United States, the name Cornwell is the 2,704^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Cornwell family to Ireland

Some of the Cornwell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cornwell migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cornwell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Cornwell, who arrived in Maryland in 1674 2
Peter Cornwell, who arrived in Virginia in 1695 2
Thomas Cornwell, who landed in Maryland in 1695 2

Cornwell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Elisabeth Cornwell, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1757 2

Cornwell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles M Cornwell, aged 17, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
Thomas R Cornwell, aged 27, who arrived in New York in 1812 2
Sarah Cornwell, who landed in New York in 1830 2

Cornwell migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cornwell Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Benjamin Cornwell U.E. who settled in Sissiboo [Weymouth], Nova Scotia c. 1783 3

Cornwell migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cornwell Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Charles Cornwell, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Calphurnia" in 1849 4
Mr. William Cornwell, English convict who was convicted in Lewes, Sussex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 27th August 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 5

Cornwell migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Cornwell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. John Cornwell, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Assaye" arriving in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1874 6
Mrs. Hannah Cornwell, British settler travelling from London, UK aboard the ship "Assaye" arriving in Auckland, North Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1874 6
Mr. Thomas Cornwell, (b. 1860), aged 24, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Florida" arriving in Invercargill, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 10th March 1884 6

Cornwell migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 7

Cornwell Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

William Cornwell, aged 20, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 2
Mr. William Cornwell, (b. 1615), aged 20, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Cornwell (post 1700) +

David John Moore Cornwell (1931-2020), English novelist from Poole, Dorset, who under his pen name John Le Carré was best known for his The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), Smiley's People (1979), The Little Drummer Girl (1983), and many more
Anita Cornwell (b. 1923), American author from Greenwood, South Carolina
John Jacob Cornwell (1867-1953), American Democratic politician, 15th Governor of West Virginia (1917-1921), Member of the West Virginia Senate (1899-1905)
Dean Cornwell (1892-1960), American illustrator and muralist, nicknamed the "Dean of Illustrators"
David Lance Cornwell (1945-2012), American politician, U.S. Representative from Indiana (1977-1979)
Woody Cornwell (1968-2016), American abstract painter, co-founder of Eyedrum Art & Music Gallery
Marshall S. Cornwell (1871-1898), American newspaper publisher, writer, and poet
Patricia Cornwell (b. 1956), contemporary American crime writer
Charlotte Cornwell (b. 1949), British actress from Marylebone, London
Bernard Cornwell OBE (b. 1944), English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The CALPHURNIA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Calpurnia.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm