Show ContentsTramell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Cornwall, one of the original six "Celtic nations" is the homeland to the surname Tramell. A revival of the Cornish language which began in the 9th century AD has begun. No doubt this was the language spoken by distant forebears of the Tramell family. Though surnames became common during medieval times, English people were formerly known only by a single name. The way in which hereditary surnames were adopted in medieval England is fascinating. Many Cornish surnames appear to be topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees, many are actually habitation surnames. The name Tramell is a local type of surname and the Tramell family lived in Devon at the manors of Sand and Tremayle.

Early Origins of the Tramell family

The surname Tramell was first found in Devon where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Sand in that shire, some say, at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book survey in 1086, a census initiated by Duke William of Normandy after his conquest of England at Hastings in 1066.

Early History of the Tramell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tramell research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1488 and 1580 are included under the topic Early Tramell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tramell Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Tremayle, Tremayll, Tremail, Tremale, Tremall and many more.

Early Notables of the Tramell family

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

Migration of the Tramell family

Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Tramell were Anthony Tremall who landed in North America in 1695.


Flight 191
  • P Tramell (d. 1979), American passenger from Los Angeles, California, USA, who flew aboard American Airlines Flight 191 and died in the crash 1


  1. Flight 191's Victims - latimes. (Retrieved 2014, April 16) . Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1985-08-04/news/mn-4349_1_fort-lauderdale-area


Houseofnames.com on Facebook