Show ContentsTatenell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Tatenell family

The surname Tatenell was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Tattenhall. Recorded first as Tatenale in the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name literally means "nook of land of a man called Tata," from the Old English personal name + "halh." 1 2 By 1303, the village was known as Tatenhale 3

Today, Tattenhall is a village and civil parish, 8 miles south-east of Chester. Tatton Hall is a country house in Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire. Tettenhall is a village in within the city of Wolverhampton, now in the West Midlands and was the site of The Battle of Tettenhall where forces of Mercia and Wessex met an army of Northumbrian Vikings on 5 August 910. 4

The parish of Tatenhill in the union of Burton-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow in Staffordshire may have been a possible origin of the family too. 4 5 This Anglo-Saxon parish dates back to 942 when it was recorded as Tatenhyll and had the same etymological origin as the Cheshire parish. 1

Early rolls give us a glimpse of the various spellings in use over the years. The Assize Rolls of Staffordshire includes an entry for Robert de Tatenhull in 1220 and later, the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk lists Roger Tathall in 1524. 5

The source Earwaker's East Cheshire includes an entry for Thomas Tatnall, Cheshire, 1459 and the Wills at Chester lists Robert Tatnall, of Saighton, 1612. 6

Further to the north in Scotland, the name was "an English name probably from Tattenhall in the county of Chester. About 1180 William de Tatenhill witnessed a charter by Matthew Kyninmond, Bishop of Aberdeen, and about the same date a charter was granted him by the same bishop in which Tatenhill is described as 'homini nostro'. Willelmus de Brenneth dictus Tatenel who witnessed a charter by Hugh Herock, burgess of Elgin, in 1286, is probably the William de Tattenel who rendered homage in 1296." 7

Early History of the Tatenell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tatenell research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1748 is included under the topic Early Tatenell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tatenell Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Tatenell has been recorded under many different variations, including Tattenhall, Tatnall, Tatnell and others.

Early Notables of the Tatenell family

More information is included under the topic Early Tatenell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Tatenell family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Tatenell or a variant listed above: Thomas Tattnell settled in Maryland in 1684.



  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  7. 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)


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