Show ContentsDeuel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Deuel originated with the Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled Britain. It is derived from the baptismal name Joel. The surname Deuel referred to the son of Joel which belongs to the category of patronymic surnames. In Old English, patronyms were formed by adding a variety of suffixes to personal names, which changed over time and from place to place. For example, after the Norman Conquest, sunu and sune, which meant son, were the most common patronymic suffixes. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the most common patronymic names included the word filius, which meant son. By the 14th century, the suffix son had replaced these earlier versions. Surnames that were formed with filius or son were more common in the north of England and it was here that the number of individuals without surnames was greatest at this time.

Early Origins of the Deuel family

The surname Deuel was first found in Devon where the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. included three listings of the name as both a forename and a surname: Warin filius Juelis, Henry III Edward I; Juel de Stanhuse; and Juel de Buketon, Devon. [1]

"Helias and Robert Juels are mentioned in the Norman Exchequer Rolls of 1180-95. Galfrid, William, and Richard Juel or Joel occur in Huntingdonshire, about 1272 in the Hundredorum Rolls. 'This family derived probably from Juel or Judael de Mayennc, Baron of Totness and Barnstaple, temp. William I.: a Breton noble. He held lands from the Earl of Mortaine, besides his own barony; and a portion of the former, as well as a fief created in the Barony of Totness, seems to have passed to the younger branch names Fitz Juel. Warin Fitz Juel, in 1242, held a knight's fee,which had been granted by the Earl of Mortaine at the Conquest.' " [2]

The source Calendarium Genealogicum: Henry III-Edward I had two listings: Jordan filius Juel; and Jordan filius Jowell, 25 Edward I (during the 25th year of King Edward I's reign.) [3]

Robert le Jewell, Alicia le Jueler were listed in the Subsidy Rolls for London in 1319. [4]

John Jowell, was Sheriff of Norwich, Norfolk in 1486. [5]

"Jewell was the name of a gentle family of Bowden in the parish of Berry - Narbor or Berryn - Arbor, near Ilfracombe, [Devon], in the 16th and 17th centuries; to this family belonged John Jewell, the noted Bishop of Salisbury, who was born at Berryn - Arbor in 1522 (W. and Pr.). The name is now well represented in the Bideford district, but still occurs in Berry. Narbor. It has also long been a Cornish name." [6]

Early History of the Deuel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deuel research. Another 50 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1522, 1535, 1559, 1560 and 1571 are included under the topic Early Deuel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deuel Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Deuel has appeared include Jewell, Jewall, Jule, Joel, Jouel and others.

Early Notables of the Deuel family

Notables of this surname at this time include: John Jewell (1522-1571), Bishop of Salisbury. He was "born on 24 May 1522, was the son of John Jewel of Buden, in the parish of Berimber, or Berrynarbor, Devonshire. His mother's name was Bellamy, and at the age of seven he...
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Deuel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Deuel family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Deuel arrived in North America very early: Thomas and Walter Jewell settled in Virginia in 1635; Robert Jewell settled in Virginia in 1637; Thomas Jewell settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1635..


Contemporary Notables of the name Deuel (post 1700) +

  • Patrick D. Deuel (b. 1962), American who was one of the heaviest people in the world (900 lb)
  • Harry Porter Deuel (1836-1914), prominent railroad man in Omaha, Nebraska, eponym of Deuel County, Nebraska
  • Geoffrey Jacob Deuel (b. 1943), American actor, best-known for playing Billy the Kid in the movie Chisum (1970)
  • Corey Deuel (b. 1977), American professional pocket billiards player
  • H. Edward Deuel, American Republican politician, Mayor of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, 1903-06, 1909-11, 1912-13, 1914-16; Defeated, 1916 [7]
  • Charles Hastings Deuel (1868-1947), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1936 [7]
  • Burr Deuel, American politician, Member of Minnesota State Senate 9th District, 1877-78 [7]
  • Andrew L. Deuel (1850-1926), American Republican politician, Delegate to Michigan State Constitutional Convention 29th District, 1907-08; Member of Michigan State House of Representatives from Emmet County, 1917-20 [7]
  • Alanson C. Deuel, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from New York, 1936, 1940 (alternate), 1944, 1952 [7]


  1. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  2. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
  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. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  6. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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