CAPELL
Capell is a surname of Anglo‑French provenance, with its earliest roots in the medieval period of England. The name was first noted in the Pipe Rolls of Herefordshire in 1193, where a Jacob de Capel appears during the reign of King Richard I, often called “the Lionheart.” The suffix ‑de indicates a locational affiliation, suggesting the family had connections to a place bearing the name Capel.
The etymology of Capell is derived from the Old Norman French word capel or chapel, itself originating from the Latin capella, a diminutive of capa meaning “hood” or “cloak.” In medieval usage, capela came to signify a small place of worship, and the surname was applied either as a topographical marker for those who lived near a chapel or as an occupational reference for persons who worked within such a setting. In some instances the name may have served as a nickname for a pious individual or for someone who bore a distinctive hat or cap, reflecting the earlier sense of chape.
Locational variants of the name are historically recorded from several English counties. Places named Capel in Kent, Suffolk, Surrey and Hertfordshire are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 – for example, Capel St. Andrew in Suffolk appears as “Capeles,” while Caple How and Kings Caple in Hertfordshire were noted as “Capel.” Residents of these localities who travelled elsewhere were often identified by their place of origin, which explains the proliferation of Capell and its orthographic variants such as Caple, Capelle, Chappel and Cappel. The surname, while not common, has a notable distribution today in English‑speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia, though it remains most frequent in the United States.
Typical given names associated with the Capell surname
Male
- Alan
- Andrew
- David
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Philip
- Richard
- Robert
- Simon
- William
Female
- Amanda
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Ethel
- Frances
- Helen
- Julie
- Karen
- Louise
- Patricia
- Rachel
- Sarah
- Susan
- Ursula
Similar and related surnames
- Capal
- Capel
- Capela
- Capelao
- Capele
- Capelis
- Capella
- Capellan
- Capellas
- Capelle
- Capelli
- Capello
- Capellos
- Capelo
- Capewell
- Capil
- Capill
- Capilla
- Capille
- Caple
- Caplea
- Caples
- Capnell
- Cappel
- Cappell
- Cappella
- Cappelle
- Cappelli
- Cappellie
- Cappello
- Cappiello
- Capple
- Capples
- Capwell
- Coppell
- Copple
- Gopaul
- Kapal
- Kapel
- Kapela
- Kapella
- Kapelle
- Kapil
- Kaple
- Kappel
- Kappell
- Kappels
- Kappil
- Kepel
- Keppel
- Keppell
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Capell in...
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There are approximately 707 people named Capell in the UK. That makes it roughly the 9,631st most common surname in Britain. Around 11 in a million people in Britain are named Capell.
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 Capell
- Robert Capell, 10th Earl of Essex - Noble (1920 to 2005)
- Reginald Capell, 9th Earl of Essex - Cricketer (1906 to 1981)
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.