Ottawell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Ottawell was carried to England in the enormous movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Norman given name of Ottiwell.

Early Origins of the Ottawell family

The surname Ottawell was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Ottawell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ottawell research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1120 is included under the topic Early Ottawell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ottawell 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 Ottiwell, Ottewell, Ottawell, Ottowell, Ottiwill, Ottwell and many more.

Early Notables of the Ottawell family

More information is included under the topic Early Ottawell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ottawell 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 Ottawell or a variant listed above were:

Ottawell Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Ottawell, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 1

Ottawell Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Ottawell, who settled in Maryland in 1754

Citations +

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)