Show ContentsWinchel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Winchel family

The surname Winchel was first found in Berwickshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times at Winscheill near Duns, 12 miles west of Berwick on Tweed, in that shire. [1] Notable in Berwickshire is Duns Castle.

Further to the south, Robert de Winchelsea (d. 1313) was "Archbishop of Canterbury [and] derived his name from Old Winchelsea in Kent, where he was probably born. A confusion of him with a namesake, John Winchelsea, has led to the improbable assertion that he was a fellow of Merton College. " [2]

Today, Winchelsea is an ancient town in Sussex. [3] Dating back to at least 1130, the town literally means "island by a river bend." from the Old English "wincel" + "eg." [4]

The Assize Rolls of Northumberland recorded Hawis Wenchel in 1203 and later, the Assize Rolls for Cheshire listed Puncok le Wenchill. [5]

Early History of the Winchel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Winchel research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1280 is included under the topic Early Winchel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Winchel Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Winchell, Winchel, Winshell, Wynchell, Wynshell, Wynchel, Wynchil and many more.

Early Notables of the Winchel family

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


United States Winchel migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Winchel Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Nicholas Winchel, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1752
  • Nicklaus Winchel, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1752 [6]

Contemporary Notables of the name Winchel (post 1700) +

  • Martin E. Winchel, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Dutchess County, 1806-08 [7]


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. 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)
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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