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![Show Contents]() Rockwel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Rockwel came to England with the ancestors of the Rockwel family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Rockwel family lived in either of two locations, one in Buckinghamshire, and one in Somerset. The places were originally called Rockholt, from the elements hroc, meaning rock, and holt meaning wood. However, another source claims the name was derived from a "dweller at, or near, the stony spring or stream." 1 Early Origins of the Rockwel familyThe surname Rockwel was first found in either Buckinghamshire or Somerset where this surname was originally a habitation surname. 2 Today, Rockwell Green is a village near Wellington, in the Taunton Deane district of Somerset and Rockwell End is a hamlet in Buckinghamshire which has been used as a film location for two of the Midsomer Murders series. Early History of the Rockwel familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rockwel research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1300 and 1324 are included under the topic Early Rockwel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Rockwel Spelling VariationsIt is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Rockwel are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Rockwel include Rockwell, Rokelle, Rockewell, Rokele, Rokewell and others. Early Notables of the Rockwel familyMore information is included under the topic Early Rockwel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Rockwel familyFaced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Rockwel, or a variant listed above: William, Susannah, Ruth and John Rockwell settled in Nantasket in 1630; Thomas Rockwell settled in Virginia in 1637 along with Mary; Edward Rockwell arrived in San Francisco in 1850.
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
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