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Wardell History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Wardell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Wardell arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Wardell family lived in Cheshire, at the village of Wardle.

Early Origins of the Wardell family

The surname Wardell was first found in Cheshire at Wardle, a township, in the parish of Bunbury, union of Nantwich, first division of the hundred of Eddisbury. 1 The township dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Warhelle. 2 By 1184, the village was known as Wardle. Literally the place name means "watch or look-out hill," from the Old English words "weard" + "hyll." 3 There is also a village named Wardle in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester and this village dates back to c. 1193 when it was first listed as Wardhul. Some of the first records of the family appeared in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, specifically: Richard de Wardle in Lincolnshire; and Nicholas de Werdhyl in Lancashire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Johannes de Wardale. 4 Up in Scotland, the name was "of local origin, probably from Wartle in the parish of Lumphanan" 5 in Aberdeen. This latter reference was in 1696, hundreds of years after the aforementioned English listings.

Early History of the Wardell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wardell research. Another 66 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1634, 1683, 1684 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Wardell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wardell Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Wardle, Wardell and others.

Early Notables of the Wardell family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Eliakim Wardell (c. 1634-c...

Wardell Ranking

In the United States, the name Wardell is the 8,425^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6

Wardell migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Wardell name or one of its variants:

Wardell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jobe Wardell, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 7
Mathew Wardell, who landed in Virginia in 1656 7
Robert Wardell, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1695 7

Wardell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Michael Wardell, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 7

Wardell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

T F Wardell, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 7

Wardell migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wardell Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Michael Wardell U.E. who settled in Bell Vue, Beaver Harbor, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1783 8
Mr. Asahel Wardell U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 8
Mr. Joseph Wardell U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 8

Wardell migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Wardell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Edward Wardell, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
Mr. Wardell, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Merchantman' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1855 9
Mrs. Wardell, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Merchantman' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 6th September 1855 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Wardell (post 1700) +

Isaac Wardell, American Presbyterian worship leader, teacher, and composer
Brandon Scott Wardell (b. 1992), American stand-up comedian
Brandon Wardell (b. 1975), American actor, producer, musician
Bradley R. Wardell (b. 1971), American businessman, programmer and founder, president, and CEO of Stardock, a software development and computer games company
Mark Wardell, English Assistant Organist at Chichester Cathedral from 1997 to 2009
Anita Wardell (b. 1961), English jazz singer, renowned for her scat singing
William Wilkinson Wardell (1823-1899), English-born, civil engineer and architect, notable not only for his work in Australia, to which he emigrated in 1858
Robert Wardell (1793-1834), English-born Australian barrister and newspaper editor
Henry John Wardell (1890-1972), New Zealand pastoralist, businessman and wool industry leader
Albert "Nippy" Wardell, Welsh professional footballer who played for the Football Association of Wales tour of Canada in 1929
... (Another 4 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
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)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html