DEVERELL
The surname Deverell is of English origin.
It is a patronymic name that originally identified the descendants of a man called Deoforhild, a personal name derived from Old English meaning "dear battle". The early use of Deverell therefore suggested a connection to bravery or valor in medieval warfare.
In another tradition, Deverell is a locational surname. It derives from the parish of Deverill in Wiltshire. The place name is itself believed to come from Old Welsh or the extinct Celtic language of the ancient Britons, with roots such as dwfrial meaning "the river of the ial" or "fertile upland region", and Dubroialon signifying "the ial on the stream". Thus Deverell may simply mean "bank of the river" or refer to living near a deep, valley stream in that part of the country.
The earliest surviving record of the name is a reference to Flyas de Deverel in the Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire, dated 1272. Other early evidence includes Eustace de Deverel in the 1273 rolls and Johannes Deverell in the 1379 Yorkshire poll‑tax records. These documents confirm that the name was in use during the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.
Marriage records from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries demonstrate the continued presence of the surname in Wiltshire and beyond. Notable entries include the wedding of Robert Deverell to Alice Richardson in London, 1590; George Deverill and Grace Forward in Wiltshire on 17th June 1666; and Roger Deveril and Jane Newman at Westwood, Wiltshire, on 13th March 1726.
Over time the spelling of the name has varied. Recorded variants include Deverale, Deveril, Deverall, Deveral, Deverille and Devorill. Such differences reflect regional pronunciation, the lack of standardised spelling in earlier centuries and the influence of dialectal changes.
Beyond England, the surname Deverell appears in records from Ireland in the seventeenth century. In modern times it remains an uncommon name but can be found in countries where English migration has taken place, such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Related English habitational surnames that begin with the prefix Dev, such as Devere, Devereaux, Devine and Devlin, share a common element but likely originate from distinct localities elsewhere in the country. Other surnames that might have a similar root because of their reference to rivers or valley streams include those that denote a bank or a deep stream.
Typical given names associated with the Deverell surname
Male
- Alex
- Andrew
- Ben
- Christopher
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Nathan
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Simon
- Stephen
Female
- Angela
- Catherine
- Emma
- Jane
- Jennifer
- Joan
- Linda
- Patricia
- 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 Deverell in...
Braille
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Morse
-......-..-...-...-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 530 people named Deverell in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around eight in a million people in Britain are named Deverell.
Famous people named Deverell
- Cyril Deverell - Army officer (1874 to 1947)
- Jack Deverell - Army general
- John Deverell - Actor (1880 to 1965)
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.