Show ContentsHassel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Hassel family

The surname Hassel was first found in Cheshire at Hassall, a village and civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East which dates back to at least the Domesday Book where it was listed as Etshale as land held by William Malbank. At that time it was part of the Middlewich Hundred and was land enough for two ploughs. 1 2

The place name literally means "the witch's nook of land" derived from the Old English haegtesse + halh. By the 13th century, the place name had evolved to be spelt Hatishale. 3

Hassall Hall is a former manor house to the east of the village and dates from the 17th century. It was upgraded in the 19th century and has since been divided into two houses. Today, the buildings are designated by the English Heritage as a Grade II listed buildings. Hassall Green is a village in the civil parish of Betchton, near Hassall.

"The ancient family of Hassall or Hassell possessed the lordship of the manor of the name as far back as the reign of Edward II.; in later times a branch has established itself in Nantwich." 4

The first record of the family was found in Oxfordshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, John de Hassett. It was not until 1299 when we find a Cheshire entry, that of Henry de Hasshal, there in 1299. 5

Early History of the Hassel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hassel research. Another 145 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1045, 1510, 1600, 1627, 1644, 1650, 1655, 1667, 1680, 1690, 1701 and 1710 are included under the topic Early Hassel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hassel Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Hassall, Hassel, Hassell, Hasell, Hasel, Hassal, Hassul and many more.

Early Notables of the Hassel family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Warner Hassells (fl. 1680-1710), was an English portrait painter, resided in London but was probably a native of Germany. "Hassells is known by a few portraits, which have been engraved including thos...

Hassel Ranking

In the United States, the name Hassel is the 15,492nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6


Hassel migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Hassel or a variant listed above were:

Hassel Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Richard Hassel, aged 54, who landed in New England in 1635 7
Hassel Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • With Hassel, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1802 7
  • Georg Jacob Hassel, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1802 7
  • John Godfred Hassel, who landed in New York in 1834 7
  • Frederick A Hassel, who landed in St Clair County, Illinois in 1843 7
  • Earnst Hassel, aged 22, who arrived in Missouri in 1844 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hassel (post 1700) +

  • Danny Hassel (b. 1966), American actor
  • Odd Hassel, Norwegian physical chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1969
  • Kaspar Hassel (1877-1962), Norwegian Olympic sailor
  • Sverre Hassel (1876-1928), Norwegian polar explorer
  • Sven Hassel (b. 1917), Danish-born soldier and writer who has written novels based on his experiences in World War II


  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  4. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)


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