The Brownel surname is thought to be a habitational name, created from any of various places in England called Brownell. There was a Brownell in Yorkshire, in Cheshire, and in Staffordshire. These place names in turn come from the Old English "brun,"meaning "brown," and "hyll" meaning "a hill." [1]
The surname Brownel was first found in Derbyshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times. The Brownel surname may even pre-date the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brownel research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1275 and 1329 are included under the topic Early Brownel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Spelling variations of this family name include: Brownell, Brounell, Brownel and others.
More information is included under the topic Early Brownel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Anne Brownell who settled in Massachusetts in 1630 with her husband Thomas.