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![Show Contents]() Rokelle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
The name Rokelle arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Rokelle 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 Rokelle familyThe surname Rokelle 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 Rokelle familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Rokelle research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1300 and 1324 are included under the topic Early Rokelle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Rokelle Spelling VariationsAnglo-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 Rockwell, Rokelle, Rockewell, Rokele, Rokewell and others. Early Notables of the Rokelle familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was - Sir Phillip Rokelle of Essex
Migration of the Rokelle familyFor 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 Rokelle or a variant listed above were: 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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