Jell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Jell arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Jell comes from the classical French name Gellius. 1 The name is also a pet form of the female given name Juliana or Gillian, and occasionally was given to children through rare metronymic descent. This occasionally occurred if a man married twice; in such a case the children of his second marriage would bear the name of their mother to distinguish them from the children of their father's first marriage.

Early Origins of the Jell family

The surname Jell was first found in Yorkshire and Derbyshire. "Hopton [in Derbyshire] was the property and residence of Sir John Gell, who, when Charles I. raised the royal standard at Nottingham, proceeded to Derby, assembled a strong body of troops for the parliament, and performed a conspicuous part throughout the war." 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Gelle Winter in Cambridgeshire; and Emma Gele in Suffolk. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Thomas Gele. 3

Early History of the Jell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jell research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1593, 1612, 1651, 1665, 1671, 1689, 1719, 1740, 1775, 1806 and 1842 are included under the topic Early Jell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jell Spelling Variations

Endless spelling variations are a prevailing characteristic of Norman surnames. Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules, and the introduction of Norman French added an unfamiliar ingredient to the English linguistic stew. French and Latin, the languages of the court, also influenced spellings. Finally, Medieval scribes generally spelled words according to how they sounded, so one person was often referred to by different spellings in different documents. The name has been spelled Gell, Gill, Jell and others.

Early Notables of the Jell family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet (1593-1671), a Parliamentarian politician and military figure in the English Civil War. His family were Wirksworth/Hopton area landholders for over 500 years. He was the son of Thomas Gell of Hopton, Derbyshire, and Millicent, daughter of Ralph Sacheverell, was born 22 June 1593. 4His...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Jell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Jell family

To escape the political and religious persecution within England at the time, many English families left for the various British colonies abroad. The voyage was extremely difficult, though, and the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving. But for those who made it, the trip was most often worth it. Many of the families who arrived went on to make valuable contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families reveals a number of immigrants bearing the name Jell or a variant listed above: John Gell who arrived in Philadelphia in 1741.

Contemporary Notables of the name Jell (post 1700) +

Sir James Jell Chalk (1803-1878), English Secretary to the Ecclesiastical Commission, second son of James Chalk of Queenborough in Kent 5

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 25 Nov. 2019