Show ContentsCardell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Cardell

What does the name Cardell mean?

The original Gaelic versions of today's Irish names demonstrate a proud, ancient past. The original Gaelic form of the name Cardell is Mac Ardghail, from the word "ardghal," which means "high valor."

Early Origins of the Cardell family

The surname Cardell was first found in County Louth (Irish: Lú) the smallest county in Ireland, located on the East coast, in the Province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Cardell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cardell research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1592 are included under the topic Early Cardell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cardell Spelling Variations

Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Cardell were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. Cardle, McCardle, Cardell, McCardel, McCardell and others.

Early Notables of the Cardell family

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


Cardell migration to the United States +

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Cardell family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Cardell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • William Cardell, who arrived in Maryland in 1740 1
Cardell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Arthur, Edward, Henry, James, William Cardell all, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1860
  • Fred Cardell, who settled in America, in 1892
  • Mrs. Geo. Cardell, aged 29, who landed in America, in 1892
  • Sissy Cardell, who landed in America, in 1892
  • Gust Cardell, aged 29, who landed in America, in 1895
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Cardell Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Anna H. G. Cardell, aged 18, who landed in America, in 1900
  • Charlotte Amelia Cardell, aged 22, who landed in America from St. Erth, England, in 1910
  • Mildred Cardell, aged 1, who immigrated to the United States, in 1911
  • Lester B. Cardell, aged 35, who settled in America, in 1912
  • Edward Cardell, aged 23, who immigrated to the United States from Manchester, England, in 1913
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cardell 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:

Cardell Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Prudence Cardell1862, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship 'Mermaid' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th December 1862 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Cardell (post 1700) +

  • William S. Cardell (1780-1828), early American fiction writer and scholar, best remembered for his sea stories for boys, best known for The Story of Jack Halyard, the Sailor Boy (1824)
  • Dame Annie Florence Gillies Cardell -Oliver DBE (1876-1965), Western Australian politician and political activist
  • Charles Cardell (1892-1977), English Wiccan from East Sussex who propagated his own tradition of the Craft
  • Christian Cardell Corbet (b. 1966), Canadian sculptor, painter and designer, co-founder and the first President of the Canadian Portrait Academy
  • Cardell Simmons, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Washington, 2000 3


  1. 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)
  2. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 28) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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