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Duffel is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Duffel family once lived in either of the towns named Duffield in Derbyshire and in North Yorkshire. The surname Duffel belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.
The surname Duffel was first found in North Yorkshire at either North or South Duffield, villages and civil parishes in the Selby District. The place name dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Dufeld.
Alternatively, the name could have originated from Duffield, a village, beside the River Derwent, at its junction with the River Ecclesbourne in Derbyshire. This locale also dates back to the Domesday Book where it was listed as Duvelle, but by the 12th century, the locale was known as Duffeld. The place name literally means "open land frequented by doves." 1
"In Domesday Book it is called Dunelle, and is described as having 'a church, a priest, and two mills;' it afterwards formed part of the demesne of Henry de Ferrers, who, in 1096, possessed a castle on an eminence north-west of the village, the site of which is now named Castle-Orchard." 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Duffel research. Another 200 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1273, 1379, 1383 and 1678 are included under the topic Early Duffel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Duffel family name include Duffield, Duffeld, Duffell, Duffill, Duffitt and others.
Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Duffel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Duffel surname or a spelling variation of the name include: