Show ContentsGotsell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Gotsell

What does the name Gotsell mean?

The ancient Anglo-Saxon culture once found in Britain is the soil from which the many generations of the Gotsell family have grown. The name Gotsell was given to a member of the family who was a person who was "gode," meaning "good," along with "saule, or soule," meaning "soul" in other words "an honest fellow," with a "good soul." 1

Alternatively, the name could have been a local name from "Gadshill (Kent), Godshill (Isle of Wight), Godshill (Hants) or Godsell Farm (Wiltshire), all originally Godeshyll ‘god’s hill’" 1

Another source postulates the name is "perhaps from Godshill, in the Isle of Wight or the same as Godesilus, the name of an early Burgundian King." 2 Pursuing the Godesilus connection, one source notes that "Godescalus, [was] a mesne lord in Wiltshire in 1086." This latter source is obviously eluding to an entry appearing in the Domesday Book. 3 4

Early Origins of the Gotsell family

The surname Gotsell was first found in Norfolk where William God saule was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1197. Ralph Godsouls was found in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219 and later, Hugh de Godeshill was listed in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1225. The Pipe Rolls for Hampshire list Hugh de Godeshull in 1230 and later again, we found Thomas de Godeshell in Devon in 1309. The Subsidy Rolls for Sussex list Richard Godeshull in 1327. 1 Ralph Godsale, taillour was found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 5

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 point to the widespread use of the name with a variety of spellings: Amice and Cecilla Godsol in Cambridgeshire; Augustin Godsouele in Huntingdonshire; and Radulphus Godsale in Norfolk. 5

"Godsell, a name now rare in the county, but represented by the Godsalls and Godsells of the neighbourhood of the city of Hereford, was an established name in Kingswood (co. Gloucester) during the 17th and 18th centuries, where a family of clothiers thus called resided." 6

Early History of the Gotsell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gotsell research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1505, 1542, 1546, 1556 and 1568 are included under the topic Early Gotsell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gotsell 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 Gotsell family name include Godsell, Godsall, Goldsalde, Godseel, Godsel, Godsalve and many more.

Early Notables of the Gotsell family

Notables of the family at this time include Sir John Godsalve (b. circa 1505- d. 1556), Clerk of the Signet, and Comptroller of the Mint, was the son and heir of Thomas Godsalve (d. 1542), registrar of the consistory court at Norwich and an owner of landed property in Norfolk.Edward...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gotsell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gotsell family to Ireland

Some of the Gotsell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Gotsell family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Gotsell surname or a spelling variation of the name include : Michael Godsil settled in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, in 1816; William Godsell settled in Tilting in 1818; Thomas Godsell settled in Harbour Grace from County Cork in 1831.



  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.


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