Show ContentsCharpil History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Charpil is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Charpil family once lived in Sharples Hall near Bolton in the county of Lancashire. This habitation surname was originally derived from the Old English word scearp meaning sharp and laes meaning pasture. Therefore the original bearers of the surname lived in an area that was defined by it's steep pasture.

Early Origins of the Charpil family

The surname Charpil was first found in Lancashire at Sharples or Sharples Hall, now a suburb of Bolton, a township of the civil and ecclesiastical parish of Bolton le Moors in the Salford hundred. 1 The first record of the placename was in 1212 when it was listed as Charples. A few years later, it was listed as Sharples and Scharples in 1292.

Early History of the Charpil family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Charpil research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1699 is included under the topic Early Charpil History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Charpil Spelling Variations

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 Charpil family name include Sharples, Sharpless and others.

Early Notables of the Charpil family

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

Migration of the Charpil family

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 Charpil surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Edward Sharples arrived in Virginia in 1623; John Sharples and his wife Jane and seven children arrived in Delaware in 1682; M. and T. Sharpless arrived in Baltimore in 1820..



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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