CATTERALL

Catterall is a surname of English origin, rooted in the amalgamation of Old Norse and Old English linguistic elements. It is a locational name derived from a place in Lancashire, hence signifying a connection to a specific geographic location.

According to historical records the name arises from the Old Norse personal name Ketill and the Old English word heall, meaning “hall” or “manor”. The combination of these elements created a surname indicating residence or association with a manor or hall within the area known as Catterall.

The place itself appears in early medieval documents. In the Domesday Book of 1086 the village is recorded as “Catrehala”, and in the Book of Fees of 1212 as “Caterhale”. These early spellings evidence the long-standing presence of the site in the English record.

Linguistically the placename is composed of the Old Scandinavian elements kattar (“cat”) and hali (“tail”), giving a descriptive meaning of “a cat’s tail”. In this context the term refers to a long, thin tract of land that is attached to the principal settlement, a common feature in the fertile lowland of Lancashire.

Locational surnames of this type were traditionally adopted by the lord of the manor or by individuals who left their birthplace to seek opportunity elsewhere. Consequently the surname Catterall identified those who either held the land or who were most likely to be found upon it.

The surname is almost exclusively concentrated in Lancashire. The earliest documented instance of an individual bearing the name is Robert de Caterell, recorded in the Curia Rolls of Hampshire in 1222, during the reign of King Henry the First, a period commonly associated with the early 13th century.

In the following centuries several bearers of the name appear in a variety of official registers. John de Caterhale is mentioned in the Lancashire Subsidy Rolls of 1332, indicating the continued use of the surname in the local context. In 1350 a record in the Knight’s Fees Records of Edward the Third refers to Gilbert de la Legh and the heir of John de Caterale held in demesne and service of the village of Hapton, again illustrating the name’s attachment to land tenure and local governance.

The name also features in civic and ecclesiastical documents. In 1400 Richard Caterall is named in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York, while later in the 16th century Ellen Catterall of Croston, Lancashire is recorded in the Chester Wills between 1545 and 1620. These entries demonstrate the name’s persistence across socio‑economic strata and over time.

The Catterall family of Crooke, Lancashire was granted a coat of arms depicting three gold mascles upon a blue field. A mascle, in heraldic terms, is a lozenge-shaped voiding, and the allocation of this charge and tincture contributed to the family’s visual identity within the local heraldic tradition.

Typical given names associated with the Catterall surname

Male

• Andrew
• Chris
• David
• Ian
• James
• John
• Mark
• Michael
• Nigel
• Paul
• Peter
• Robert
• Stephen
• William

Female

• Barbara
• Elizabeth
• Emma
• Helen
• Jennifer
• Laura
• Linda
• Margaret
• Mary
• Rebecca
• Sarah
• Sj
• 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 Catterall in...

Braille

⠉⠁⠞⠞⠑⠗⠁⠇⠇

Morse

-.-..---..-..-.-...-..

Semaphore

Famous people named Catterall

• Ross Antony Catterall - Musical actor, singer, television entertainer and presenter
• Arthur Catterall - Musician (1883 to 1943)
• Stuart Catterall - Cricketer
• Duncan Catterall - Cricketer
• Pippa Catterall - Historian

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.

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