The history of the McCristall name began with the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from Christopher, an ancient and popular font name which has been common since the 12th century. [1] Another source claims the name was "derived from a geographical locality. 'of Cristall.' I cannot find the spot, but Yorkshire seems to have been the home of the surname." [2]
The surname McCristall was first found in Yorkshire where one of the first records of the name was Robert de Cristall who was registered in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. [2]
Scotland was another homeland for the family and in this case, "it is certainly a diminutive or pet form of Christopher. The first form was an old surname in Foveran and it was not uncommon in Prestwick, Ayrshire, in the fifteenth century" [3]
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our McCristall research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1470, 1474, 1491, 1567, 1650, 1672, 1790, 1535 and 1487 are included under the topic Early McCristall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 McCristall family name include Chrystal, Cristall, Cristoll, Cristole, Cristell, Crystal, Crystall, MacCrystall, MacCristall and many more.
Notables of the family at this time include Thomas Crystall, (d. 1535) the twenty second abbot of a Cistercian monastery of Kinloss, near Forres in Moray. "Crystall was born in Culross in Perthshire, and educated in its monastery, a house of the Cistercians, where his talents, especially for music, attracted the attention of James Rait, the abbot, and his brother William, a skilled musician...
Another 64 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early McCristall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.