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| | England |
Cornwall, one of the original six "Celtic nations" is the homeland to the surname Shapell. 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 Shapell 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 Shapell is a local type of surname and the Shapell family lived in Yorkshire, at Shipley.
The surname Shapell was first found in the county of Cornwall where they held a family seat from very ancient times.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shapell research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1607, 1608 and 1613 are included under the topic Early Shapell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Sharpley, Shapley, Shapleigh, Sharply, Shapell, Shaple, Sharple and many more.
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shapell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Shapell were Nicholas Shapliegh of Devonshire settled in Boston in 1635. James Shapley arrived in Pennsylvania in 1878; Charles Sharpley settled in Boston in 1765.