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![Show Contents]() Farnhill History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Farnhill is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived by a fern-covered hill. The name is both a surname and a place-name, and is derived from the Old English elements fearn, for fern, and hyll, the word for hill. 1 Alternatively, another source notes that the surname denotes a "dweller at the Fern Slope or Corner [Old English fearn + heal(h)] for Farnhill." 2 Early Origins of the Farnhill familyThe surname Farnhill was first found in East Cheshire at Fernhill, or at Farnhill in West Riding of Yorkshire or at Farnell Wood in Kent. Some of the first records of the name include: Richard de Farenhull in 1214; William de Fernhulle in 1263 and Hugh de la Fernhull in 1275; John de Farnhull, listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273; and William atte Farnhulle in 1298. 1 In Scotland, the name was derived from "the lands of Famell in Angus. Between 1214 and 1246 Duncan de Ferneuel witnessed charters by Malcolm, earl of Angus, and a charter of land in the territory of Kerimor to Arbroath Abbey. Meg Fernwale is recorded in Aberdeen, 1408." 3 Early History of the Farnhill familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Farnhill research. Another 116 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1246 and 1379 are included under the topic Early Farnhill History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Farnhill Spelling VariationsSound 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 Farnhill family name include Farnell, Farnel, Farnall, Farnyll, Farnill and many more. Early Notables of the Farnhill familyMore information is included under the topic Early Farnhill Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Farnhill familyFor 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 Farnhill surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Robert Farnell purchased land in Virginia in 1623. Mary Farnell also landed in Virginia, later, in 1655.
| Contemporary Notables of the name Farnhill (post 1700) | + |
- Mr. John Farnhill, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1727 to 1728
| Historic Events for the Farnhill family | + |
- Mr. Kenneth Haydn Farnhill, British Pay Lieutenant, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 4
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
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