Contents [hide]

Mitchel History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Mitchel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The distinguished surname Mitchel is one of the many names that first came to England in the wake of the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name is derived from the given name "Michel," meaning "who is like God." 1 One source notes of another possible origin: "Anglo-Saxon mycel, great, or mickle, would be a tolerably satisfactory etymon, and this may in some instances be the origin of the surname; but I think in most cases it is derived from Michael, a very popular baptismal name in many countries, through its French form, Michel." 2

Early Origins of the Mitchel family

The surname Mitchel was first found in many places throughout ancient Britain. As if to underscore this claim, the following entries were found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273: Hugh filius Micahel in Lincolnshire; Roger Michel in Norfolk; and as a forename, Mikael de Brackele in London. Years later, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed the following: Johannes Michelson; Thomas Michilson and Adam Michelson. 3

Michele Michael was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Somerset in 1327. Michel de Whepstede was recorded in Punchbeck, Suffolk in 1327. The Curia Regis Rolls for Northumberland listed Gilbert Michel in 1205, while the same rolls for Somerset recorded Robert Michel in Somerset in 1219. 4

"In 1198 Michael de Middelton' held a quarter of a carucate in Middleton, Wiltshire by service of keeping the king's wolf-hounds (Fees). About 1219 William Michel received per day for keeping two wolf-hounds and in 1236 Richard Michel held a cotset in Middleton for a similar service. The relationship between the three men is not stated but it appears a reasonable assumption that they were of the same family and that Michaelde Middleton had two sons who derived their surname Michel from their father's Christian name." 4

The name was "distributed over England, but far more frequent in the south. Its home, par excellence, is in the county of Cornwall, where in nearly half the instances it is written Michell, though the pronunciation is the same. Its other homes are in Sussex, Wilts, and in the West Riding. Its prevalence in Cornwall is due to the fact that several parishes and places in the county bear the name of St. Michael in one form or another." 5

In Devon, Thomas Mitchell was Warden of St Mary's College, Ottery St Mary in 1511.

Early History of the Mitchel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mitchel research. Another 136 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1068, 1320, 1344, 1384, 1438, 1586, 1624, 1635, 1647, 1649, 1650, 1661, 1662, 1668, 1672, 1696, 1740, 1745, 1816 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Mitchel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mitchel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mitchell, Michel, Michell, Mitchill, Mychell, Mitcham and many more.

Early Notables of the Mitchel family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Jonathan Mitchel (1624?-1668), New England divine, born in Halifax, Yorkshire, about 1624, was son of Matthew Mitchel. He accompanied his parents to America in 1635, graduated at Harvard in 1647, and...
William Mitchel (1672-1740?), was an English pamphleteer, known as the 'Tinklarian Doctor,' who seems to have gone to Edinburgh about 1696 to earn a poor livelihood as a tinsmith at the head of the We...
Vice Admiral Sir William Mitchell, KCB (c.1745-1816), an officer of the British Royal Navy, recipient of the Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Mitchel Ranking

In the United States, the name Mitchel is the 4,959^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Mitchel family to Ireland

Some of the Mitchel family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 137 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mitchel migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mitchel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Patrick Mitchel, who landed in Virginia in 1723 7
David Mitchel, who arrived in Virginia in 1739 7
Gabriel Mitchel, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 7

Mitchel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Mitchel, aged 20, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1803 7
Edward Mitchel, who arrived in America in 1803 7
Francis Mitchel, aged 35, who arrived in New York, NY in 1812 7
Charles Mitchel, aged 45, who landed in Maine in 1812 7
James Mitchel, who landed in New York, NY in 1816 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mitchel Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. William Samuel Mitchel, (b. 1876), aged 25, English miner travelling aboard the ship "Campania" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 7th July 1901 en route to Negaunee, Michigan, USA 8

Mitchel migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mitchel Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Jehill Mitchel U.E., (Jehiel) who settled in Bastard [Rideau Lakes], Leeds and Greenville, Ontario c. 1784 9
Mr. George Mitchel U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1786 9

Mitchel Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

David Mitchel, aged 50, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Madawaska" in 1833
Rachel Mitchel, aged 50, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Madawaska" in 1833
William Mitchel, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Madawaska" in 1833
James Mitchel, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Madawaska" in 1833
Rachel Mitchel, aged 13, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick aboard the ship "Madawaska" in 1833
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mitchel migration to Australia +

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

Mitchel Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Elizabeth A. Mitchel, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cheapside" in 1849 10

Mitchel 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:

Mitchel Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Mitchel, aged 30, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alfred" in 1864 11
Hugh Mitchel, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Owen Glendowner" in 1864

Contemporary Notables of the name Mitchel (post 1700) +

James Mitchel (1864-1921), American bronze medalist for weight throw at the 1904 Olympic games
John Purroy Mitchel (1879-1918), American Republican politician, U.S. Collector of Customs, 1913; Mayor of New York City, New York, 1914-17 12
John Mitchel, American politician, Representative from Ohio 7th District, 2000 12
Henrietta Mitchel, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from Mississippi, 1920 12
Charles Burton Mitchel (1815-1864), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Arkansas State Legislature, 1848; U.S. Senator from Arkansas, 1861; Senator from Arkansas in the Confederate Congress, 1862-64 12
Broadus Mitchel, American politician, Candidate for Governor of Maryland, 1934 12
John Mitchel (1815-1875), Irish patriot
Mr. Keith Mitchel Rumesn B.E.M., British Border Force Officer for Coquelles for South East and Europe Command at Home Office, was appointed Medallist of the British Empire Medal 29th December 2018 for services to Customs and Border Security 13
Lawrence Mitchel Gartner (b. 1933), American physician; his work and research in pediatrics has earned him various awards
Mitchel Tate Musso (b. 1991), American actor, musician and singer, best known for his roles as Oliver Oken in Hannah Montana;

Historic Events for the Mitchel family +

Lady of the Lake

Mr. William Mitchel (b. 1813), Irish labourer from Malin Head, Ireland who sailed aboard the "Lady of the Lake" from Greenock, Scotland on 8th April 1833 to Quebec, Canada when the ship hit ice and sunk of the coast of Newfoundland on the 11th May 1833 and he died in the sinking

Citations +

Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
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)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
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 CHEAPSIDE 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Cheapside.htm
Archives New Zealand Micro 5019. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Alfred. Retrieved from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ourstuff/Alfred1864.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists