Dells History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The ancient roots of the Dells family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Dells comes from when the family lived beside the water. The surname Dells originally derived from the Old English word dell which referred to someone who inhabited an area close to a body of water or glade. 1

Another source has a slightly different interpretation; having derived from the Saxon dialect "a dweller by the water," or "dell" a glade. 2

"The medieval form was At Dale, softened afterwards to A'Dale, as often found in parish registers of the XVI. cent., and widely renowned through the ballad of Robin Hood and Allin a'Dale." 3

Early Origins of the Dells family

The surname Dells was first found in Suffolk where the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Ralph de la Dale and Thomas de la Dale as holding lands there at that time. 4

William and Robert atte Delle were listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. 5

Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls listed Thomas del Dale; Robertus del Dale; Willelmus at Dale; and Johannes at Dale. 4

Up in Scotland, the first record there was Johannes de Dale who was charter witness at Yester, 1374, and later, Syme of Daile and Jok of Dail of the Newtoun were both listed in Ayrshire in 1470. 6

Early History of the Dells family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dells research. Another 44 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1607, 1649, 1657, 1658, 1660, 1665 and 1669 are included under the topic Early Dells History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dells Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Dells has appeared include Dell, Delle, Dells and others.

Early Notables of the Dells family

Notables of this surname at this time include: William Dell (c. 1607-1669), an English clergyman from Bedfordshire, Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1649 to 1660, and prominent radical Parliamentarian. Jonas Dell (d. 1665), was an English Quaker, who died at Stepney...
Another 43 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dells Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dells migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Dells arrived in North America very early:

Dells Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Detlof Dells, who arrived in New York, NY in 1754 7

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)