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Hazel History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Hazel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Hazel arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Hazel family lived in Devon. This name however, is a topographical reference indicating that the original bearer lived in close proximity to a hazel tree or grove. 1

Early Origins of the Hazel family

The surname Hazel was first found in Devon at Halsewell. This parish "was possessed by the family surnamed from it De Halsewell, almost from the period of the Conquest, and it still belongs to their descendant, Colonel Kemeys-Tynte, whose ancestor married the heiress in the XVII. century." 2 They were descended from Halsewell or De Halsewell from Normandy. 3

In turn, the name evolved into the shortened forms including Hazel, Hazell, Hasel, Hasell, Haisell and others and spread throughout ancient Britain. By example, Alured del Hesel was listed in Worcester c. 1182, Gamel Hesel listed in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1203, and Hugh de Hesill in the Assize Rolls of Yorkshire in 1204. 4

Early History of the Hazel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hazel research. Another 213 words (15 lines of text) covering the year 1628 is included under the topic Early Hazel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hazel Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Halsewell, Halswell, Harsewell, Harswell, Hazel, Hazell, Hassal, Hassel, Hassall and many more.

Early Notables of the Hazel family

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

Hazel Ranking

In the United States, the name Hazel is the 3,280^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 5

Hazel migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Hazel or a variant listed above were:

Hazel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

D. Hazel, who settled in San Francisco in 1850
Frank Hazel, aged 40, who arrived in Mobik, Ala in 1872 6
H. J. Hazel, aged 35, who immigrated to the United States, in 1893
Annie Hazel, aged 17, who immigrated to the United States, in 1895
Frances Hazel, aged 22, who settled in America, in 1896

Hazel Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Geo. Hazel, aged 11, who immigrated to America from Norwich, in 1904
Charles Hazel, aged 27, who immigrated to America from London, England, in 1907
Christopher Hazel, aged 19, who landed in America from Bantry, Ireland, in 1907
Edwin Hazel, aged 47, who settled in America from Homdale, Englamd, in 1910
Ann Eliza Hazel, aged 62, who settled in America from Norbury, England, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hazel migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hazel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Edward Hazel U.E. who settled in Western District [The townships of Essex County and Kent County], Ontario c. 1784 he served in the Detroit Volunteers for the Indian Department 7

Hazel migration to Australia +

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

Hazel Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. George Hazel, British Convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Robert Hazel, aged 36, a wheelwright, who arrived in South Australia in 1849 aboard the ship "Himalaya" 9
Mary Ann Hazel, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Abberton" in 1849 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Hazel (post 1700) +

John Tilghman "Til" Hazel Jr. (1930-2022), American attorney and real-estate developer in Northern Virginia who is credited with developing several portions of Fairfax County, Virginia into major commercial and residential areas
John R. Hazel, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1900 11
James Henry Hazel, American Republican politician, Lieutenant Governor of Delaware, 1929-33; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1936 11
John Raymond Hazel (1860-1951), United States jurist and politician
Homer "Pop" Hazel (1895-1968), American football, basketball, and baseball player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (1951)
Lowell Christopher "Chris" Hazel (b. 1965), American attorney, Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Arthur "Monk" Hazel (1903-1968), American jazz drummer
Edward Earl "Eddie" Hazel (1950-1992), American guitarist, posthumous inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Ian Hazel (b. 1967), English former professional footballer
Elizabeth Hazel (b. 1974), English bronze medalist backstroke swimmer at the 1992 Summer Olympics
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"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
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The HIMALAYA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Himalaya.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The ABBERTON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Abberton.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 18) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html