Tatnell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Tatnell family

The surname Tatnell 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 Tatnell family

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

Tatnell Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Tatnell include Tattenhall, Tatnall, Tatnell and others.

Early Notables of the Tatnell family

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

Tatnell migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Tatnell were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Tatnell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Hannah Tatnell, who landed in Maryland in 1673 8

Tatnell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Ann Tatnell, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1725 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Tatnell (post 1700) +

Dr. Ruth Tatnell, Australian lecturer and researcher in the School of Psychology at Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
Mark Tatnell, Australian actor, known for his role in Dropbears: An Investigative Special (2022)
Brooke Tatnell, Australian sprintcar driver, five-time winner of the Australian Sprintcar Championship (2005, 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012), son of George Tatnell
George Tatnell (d. 2007), Australian sprintcar and speedcar driver, winner of both the Australian Sprintcar Championship and the Australian Speedcar Championship, eponym of the George Tatnell Cup, father of Brooke Tatnell

Citations +

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