Tatnal History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Early Origins of the Tatnal family

The surname Tatnal was first found in Cheshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Tattenhall. Recorded first as Tatenale in the Domesday Book of 1086, the place name literally means "nook of land of a man called Tata," from the Old English personal name + "halh." 1 2 By 1303, the village was known as Tatenhale 3

Today, Tattenhall is a village and civil parish, 8 miles south-east of Chester. Tatton Hall is a country house in Tatton Park near Knutsford, Cheshire. Tettenhall is a village in within the city of Wolverhampton, now in the West Midlands and was the site of The Battle of Tettenhall where forces of Mercia and Wessex met an army of Northumbrian Vikings on 5 August 910. 4

The parish of Tatenhill in the union of Burton-upon-Trent, N. division of the hundred of Offlow in Staffordshire may have been a possible origin of the family too. 4 5 This Anglo-Saxon parish dates back to 942 when it was recorded as Tatenhyll and had the same etymological origin as the Cheshire parish. 1

Early rolls give us a glimpse of the various spellings in use over the years. The Assize Rolls of Staffordshire includes an entry for Robert de Tatenhull in 1220 and later, the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk lists Roger Tathall in 1524. 5

The source Earwaker's East Cheshire includes an entry for Thomas Tatnall, Cheshire, 1459 and the Wills at Chester lists Robert Tatnall, of Saighton, 1612. 6

Further to the north in Scotland, the name was "an English name probably from Tattenhall in the county of Chester. About 1180 William de Tatenhill witnessed a charter by Matthew Kyninmond, Bishop of Aberdeen, and about the same date a charter was granted him by the same bishop in which Tatenhill is described as 'homini nostro'. Willelmus de Brenneth dictus Tatenel who witnessed a charter by Hugh Herock, burgess of Elgin, in 1286, is probably the William de Tattenel who rendered homage in 1296." 7

Early History of the Tatnal family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Tatnal research. Another 77 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1748 is included under the topic Early Tatnal History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Tatnal Spelling Variations

Tatnal has been spelled many different ways. Before English spelling became standardized over the last few hundred years, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. As the English language changed in the Middle Ages, absorbing pieces of Latin and French, as well as other languages, the spelling of people's names also changed considerably, even over a single lifetime. Spelling variants included: Tattenhall, Tatnall, Tatnell and others.

Early Notables of the Tatnal family

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

Migration of the Tatnal family

In an attempt to escape the chaos experienced in England, many English families boarded overcrowded and diseased ships sailing for the shores of North America and other British colonies. Those families hardy enough, and lucky enough, to make the passage intact were rewarded with land and a social environment less prone to religious and political persecution. Many of these families became important contributors to the young colonies in which they settled. Early immigration and passenger lists have documented some of the first Tatnals to arrive on North American shores: Thomas Tattnell settled in Maryland in 1684.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)