Amell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

From the historical and enchanting region of Scotland emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Amell family. Originally, the Scottish people were known only by a single name. The process by which hereditary surnames were adopted in Scotland is extremely interesting. Surnames evolved during the Middle Ages when people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. Often they adopted names that were derived from nicknames. Nickname surnames were derived from an eke-name, or added name. They usually reflected the physical characteristics or attributes of the first person that used the name. The name Amell is a nickname type of surname Anglicized from the Gaelic name O'hAdhmaill, which means active.

Early Origins of the Amell family

The surname Amell was first found in Normandy, where Robert, Ranulph, Turstan and Savaric Hamel were recorded in 1180. 1 The Saxon, Aldan Hamel was listed in the source Old English Bynames c. 1055 and later, Gregory Hamel was listed in Yorkshire, England c. 1170. 2

One of the first records of the family in Scotland was "William de Hameville [who] witnessed a confirmation charter of the fishery of Torduf between 1194-1211. As William de Heneuile or de Heyneuile he appears as witness in two Annandale charters by William Bruce, between 1194-1214, and in a resignation by Dunegal, son of Udard within the same period. In the reign of William the Lion, Walter de Hamule settled in Lothian where he obtained lands. He made a grant to the Abbey of Newbattle, Alan Homel perambulated the lands of Rath, c. 1206. Andreas Homyl was bailie of Roxburgh c. 1338, and John Homyl acted as bailie for Sir John Montgomery in 1413. John Homil or Homel was juror in an inquiry respecting right to muir ground at Irvine, 1417. Another John Homyll was appointed Master of the Grammar School of Aberdeen, 1418. Robert de Hommyl had a charter of Roughwood, Ayrshire, and confirmation of previous and older grants to his family in 1452, and Hugh Hanunill of Roughwood went to Ireland with Montgomery of Ards." 3

Early History of the Amell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Amell research. Another 231 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1143, 1194, 1206, 1214, 1379, 1418, 1482, 1487, 1497, 1514, 1527, 1548, 1550, 1606, 1620, 1648, 1671, 1678 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Amell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Amell Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hamill, Hammill, Hamil, Hommill, Homill, Homil, Hammel, Hammell and many more.

Early Notables of the Amell family

Another 30 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Amell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Amell family to Ireland

Some of the Amell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 91 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Amell migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Amell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francisco Amell, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1871 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Amell (post 1700) +

Bernard Amell, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New York, 1980 5
Stephen Amell (b. 1981), Canadian Gemini Award winning actor, known for his roles in Arrow (2012), Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) and The Tracey Fragments (2007)

Citations +

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)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html