Show ContentsCatell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Catell Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Catell

What does the name Catell mean?

The Catell surname finds its earliest origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name is derived from Chetel, an Old Norse and Old English given name. "The Welsh Annals (Annales Cambriae, Mon. Hist. Brit.) mention a Catell, king of Powys, in A.D. 808, and other eminent personages of the same Christian name. Cattal is, however, the name of a township in the West Riding of Yorkshire. " 1

Early Origins of the Catell family

The surname Catell was first found in Norfolk, where Chetel Frieday, a freeman was listed in 1087. 2 Early records were more often than not of the name as a forename as almost two hundred years later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Cattle Bagge in Cambridgeshire. 3 The same rolls include Hervey Catel in Norfolk and Geoffrey Cattel in Huntingdonshire. 4

Later in Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 include: Thomas Chetill; and Johannes Chetel. 3

Again in Yorkshire, we found John Cattle in 1653, John Cattell in 1683, and John Cattall in 1707, all listed as Freemen of York. 4

"The name of Cattell is now well established around Birmingham: it is also found in the contiguous county of Oxford. Six hundred years ago it occurred as Catel and Katel in Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Hunts, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire." 5

Early History of the Catell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Catell research. Another 237 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1279, 1500, 1530, 1561, 1653, 1683, 1707, 1773, 1780, 1781, 1787, 1790, 1792, 1802, 1810 and 1814 are included under the topic Early Catell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Catell Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Catell are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Catell include: Cattell, Cattle, Catel, Cattall, Catell, Cattelle and many more.

Early Notables of the Catell family

Geoffrey Catel, a prominent 13th century landholder in Huntingdonshire. Back in France, where some of the family remained, Charles Simon Catel, born June 1773 at l'Aigle (Orne); began his studies very early under Sacchini, Gobert, and Gossec, in the 'Ecole royale de chant et de déclamation,' at Paris. In 1787 he was made accompanist and 'professeur-adjoint' of the School, and in 1790 accompanist at the Opera. The same year he became chief, conjointly with Gossec, of the band of the Garde Nationale, for which he wrote a vast quantity of military music, which was adopted throughout the revolutionary army. His first work...
Another 106 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Catell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Catell family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Catell or a variant listed above: Thomas Cattle who arrived in Virginia in 1635.
  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.

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