Kerell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Kerell was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Kerell family lived at Kirkley, a township in the parish of Poneteland in the county of Northumberland. The family name Kerell became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror gave his friends and relatives most of the land formerly owned by Anglo-Saxon aristocrats. An early roll lists John de Curli of England, 1199 and this source presumes the name is from Thomas de Curleio in Normandy, 1198. 1

Another source postulates the name means "dweller near Curley (bend or turn in the road), in Scotland; one who came from Curley, in France; one who had curly hair." 2

Early Origins of the Kerell family

The surname Kerell was first found in Sussex where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Ashburnham, anciently Esseborne. These estates, including three salt houses, were granted to Robert de Criel, a Norman Knight, by William, Duke of Normandy for his assistance at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D., and is so noted in the Domesday Book, 3 a survey taken of landholders in England in 1086.

Robert de Criel was from the Castle of Criel near Criel-sur-Mer in the arrondisement of Dieppe. Part of the walls of this huge castle are still standing, and there are also traces of a moat. Robert's chief tenant was the Count of Eu. 1

Early English rolls showed a wide variety of spellings in Latin and early English: Rannulf de Curleio was listed at Hinton, Hampshire c. 1110; Robert de Curli was found in the Pipe Rolls for Oxfordshire in 1190; William de Curly in the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire 1227-1228; Benedict le Curly in Staffordshire in 1271; and Thomas Curly in the Subsidy Rolls for Warwickshire in 1332. 4

Early History of the Kerell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerell research. Another 257 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1295, 1339, 1489, 1575, 1628, 1629, 1632, 1637, 1647, 1678, 1679, 1724 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Kerell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerell Spelling Variations

Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Crull, Crul, Cruel, Criel, Cryle, Kriel, Krile, Crile, Kirle, Kyrle, Cyrle, Kreel, Creel, Crulle, Crule, Curl, Curle, Girl, Cryll and many more.

Early Notables of the Kerell family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Walter Curle (Curll) (1575-1647), an English bishop, a close supporter of William Laud, Bishop of Rochester in 1628, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1629...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kerell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Kerell family to Ireland

Some of the Kerell family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerell migration to the United States +

Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Kerell or a variant listed above:

Kerell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Tho Kerell, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1681 5

The Kerell Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Nil moror ictus
Motto Translation: I do not care for blows.

Citations +

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)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)