ARNELL
Arnell is a surname of English and Germanic origin that has been recorded in the British Isles since the late twelfth century. It is first attested in legal documents of the period and has since become a well‑documented family name in England, the United Kingdom and the wider diaspora.
The name is a patronymic derivative of the personal name Arnold, itself formed from the Germanic elements arn, meaning eagle, and wald, meaning rule. Consequently, the meaning of the surname can be interpreted as “ruler of the eagles” or “eagle power”. The construction of the surname indicates that it originally identified the descendants of an ancestor called Arnold.
Early occurrences are found within the Domesday Book of 1086, where an individual named Roger filius Ernaldi is recorded. Later medieval documents cite names such as William Arnold of Suffolk (1277) and John Arnoud of Cambridgeshire (1279). The surname itself was first spelt as Puntius Arnaldi in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire in 1196, a record dated to the reign of Richard the Lionheart.
Two distinct sources for the name exist. The primary origin traces from the Norman‑French personal name Arnaut, Ernaut or Hernaut, derived from the Old German Arnald, Arnold or Arnolt, with the same “arn”‑eagle and “wald”‑rule components. The second possibility is an Anglo‑Saxon locational derivation from villages named Arnold in Nottinghamshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, originally recorded as Ernehale and Aernhale respectively. These place‑names combine the Old English earn (eagle) with halh (nook or remote valley). A Roger de Arnhal is noted in the Book of Fees for Nottinghamshire as an example of the locational link.
The surname is historically distinguished by its heraldry: it possesses no less than twelve separate coats of arms and has been mentioned in several editions of the Dictionary of National Biography. These heraldic records reinforce the name’s enduring prominence in English history.
In the modern era, the name is most common in England, but significant numbers also appear in the United States, Australia and Canada. This distribution reflects the wider migration of people from Britain and Scotland, particularly after the 17th century.
Variations of the surname include Arnall, Arnoll, Arnelle, Arnell and longer patronymic forms such as Arnoldsen or Arnoldson, the latter following Scandinavian tradition. French cognates such as Arnaud, Arnoux and Arnault and Germanic forms like Arens and Arentz are also linked by common root elements. Some historians note a possible connection to Old Norse Arnketill, meaning “eagle‑cauldron”, suggesting a further substratum of meaning for early bearers of the name.
Migration patterns include the early settler Thomas Arnold, aged 30, who departed London aboard the ship Plaine Joan bound for Virginia in May 1635. He is recorded as part of the earliest Arnell presence in the New World. The name also occurred in ancient Scotland, where an Arnell family seat is documented in Argyllshire and was noted in the Pipe Rolls of that region.
Collectively, these historical strands establish the Arnell surname as a lineage rooted in both personal and locational origins, with a clear etymological link to the powerful symbol of the eagle, and a legacy that has endured across centuries and continents.
Typical given names associated with the Arnell surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- Daniel
- David
- John
- Kevin
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Ann
- Catherine
- Christine
- Elizabeth
- Gillian
- Helen
- Jean
- Lorraine
- Margaret
- Mary
- Maureen
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Arnell in...
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There are approximately 1,053 people named Arnell in the UK. That makes it roughly the 7,088th most common surname in Britain. Around 16 in a million people in Britain are named Arnell.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Arnell
- Vaughan Arnell - Music video director
- Alan Arnell - Football player (1933 to 2013)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.