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Origin and Meaning of the Name

The name, Newell, as we carry it today has several possible origins and has gone through many spelling variations. Apparently our modern spelling was derived as the most common form from some of the following variations; Newhall, Newall, Newill, Newel, and even Nuel or Nuil. In the early records of the American colonies, penmanship often led some later readers and transcribers to even interchange the names Neville, Nowell, and Newell, plus many other possibilities only limited by the imagination.

The basic Newell surname began to be formulated in and around North Central England probably during the 11th century A.D., and began appearing in written documents by the end of the 12th century A.D. Cheshire County (often written as Chestershire), whose principal city of Chester was a significant port and trading center before becoming overshadowed by Liverpool, is thought by most researchers to be the principle origin of the name. Other counties of England that occupied this general region included Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to the east of Cheshire; Lancashire to the north (includes Liverpool); and Yorkshire to the northeast. These counties all lie along the bordering areas between the ancient English kingdoms of Mercia (central England) and Northumbria (northern England and southern Scotland).

This early English origin is primarily a "place-name" type of surname, but it also carries an occupational association. However, even here there are two potential "places" that gave rise to our final name version. The most common of the two related to new buildings in the town such as the "new" house or the "new" town hall. As the surname began to be applied, it was quite possible for individuals with absolutely no blood relationship to be given the same general surname due to their occupation or location. So if John lived near the new hall, he might be called "John by the New Hall," or there might have been a "William from the New Hall" in town.

Since the "h" is silent in English pronunciation, it was a fairly easy process to go from Newhall to Newall, or Newell. There are many families today who still retain the Newhall spelling, but apparently Newell was an early and decisive origination of the spelling directly from the Old English spelling of New Hall which was NIWE-H(E)ALL.

Bardsley's "Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames" says that Newall, Newell, or Newhall are all local terms meaning "of Newhall" to indicate townships in the counties of Chester, York, etc. It simply meant "at the new hall" probably as distinct from the old hall. He indicates that county Chester (Cheshire) has no doubt supplied the majority of Newells and Newalls. Some early documented names from his reference are; Thomas atte Nywehalle of Somerset, John de Newhalle of Cambridgeshire, and Hugo de Neuhalle of Yorkshire in 1379. In 1630 there was a will for Richard Newall of Chester and in 1686, a marriage recorded for Honor Newell of Herts (Hertfordshire, north of London).

Smith's "American Surnames" says that families living in a recently built house in England could have received the family name of Newhall, Newhouse, or Newell. Harrison's "Surnames of the United Kingdom" indicates that Newall is a spelling often used in place of Newhall, and that Newell and Newill are sometimes used instead of Newall. He also says that it means "a dweller at or by the new hall."

The second possible place-name origin was derived through a corrupted spelling of "nut hall," which certainly didn't carry the same connotation as our modern "nuthouse" does. Spelling was not so standardized in those days and there was a close resemblance between the Old English words for "nut" (variously spelled "note, nuc, or nue") and "new" (spelled "niew or niwe"). Smith's "American Surnames" says that the place name, Notehala, is a spelling appearing in the pipe roll of 1194. It literally meant the "corner where nuts grew" in Nottinghamshire, England. Altered spellings in later transcriptions included, Nuchala in 1195, Nuehala in 1196, and with the apparent misreading of the first syllable as "new" instead of "nut" by the scribe, it came out as Niewehale in 1197. This spelling could have produced Newhall which was recorded as Newehala in Leicestershire in 1284. The surnames Nutall and Nuttall derived from Nuthall, are still fairly common in our country today. The nut hall was, of course, the storage house for the fall harvest from the many different nut producing shrubs and trees, similar to our granaries of today.

A third English source involves another spelling descrepancy derived from the Norman (French) family of Neville and its allied spellings. Reaney's "A Dictionary of British Surnames" makes a distinction between "Newell" on the one hand, and "Newhall or Newall" on the other. Under the latter he lists a Robert de Niwehal in Yorkshire in 1195, again meaing "dweller at the new hall." However, under Newell he lists Thomas de Newell in Essex in 1201 claiming that the spelling may have been used in place of Nevill. He also lists a Ralph Nuuel in Yorkshire in 1209 as a possible substitute for Noel.

The Nevilles became a very powerful ruling class in Norman England and in later centuries, and their main center was at York. No doubt many associated workers and tenants assumed this surname in some form. To illustrate the similarity, Reaney lists Ralph de Neuilla and Richard de Nouvilla from the 1086 Domesday Book. In addition there was Gilbert Neuille de Nouila in Lincolnshire from 1142-1160, and John de Newill in Wiltshire in 1235. Therefore, the Newell surname developing in Yorkshire might well have been associated with the Neville families at York. Barber's "British Family Names" says that Newell was derived from Nieul, a location (town) name in France. This is very similar to the French "neuvelle" which meant "new town" and was a common French place name. No doubt the Normans brought this form to England, quite possibly as Neville.

Other non-English sources included Scotland and Ireland for our surname. Black's "The Surnames of Scotland" indicates that Neuall and Newall are old surnames of Galloway. This area is now occupied, at least partially, by the southwestern Scottish county of the same name. Black gives several documented names from the records of Scotland. There was Radulf Nuuel who witnessed King David of Scotland's charter of Swinton to Hernulf. Gardein de Nouel leu de Seneware rendered homage in 1296 and Laurence Newale was a tenant in Dobtoun, Dumfries in 1376. Herbert Newell witnessed a notarial deed in Dumfries in 1453. Nichol Nowale and Thomas Newall signed the Band of Dumfries in 1570. John Newall was a witness in Glasgow in 1553. Thomas Newall, heir of Archibald Newall was a burgess of Dumfries in 1601. John Newall, heir of Martin Newall of Barnbachall was recorded in 1635 and Andrew Newall was noted in Burnesyde-croft of Endrig in 1680. Most of the above records appear to be concerned with the district of Galloway.

McLeysaght's "Irish Surnames" says that when the English began recording the Irish clans, they assigned the names (O') Newell, Knowles, and Knowell to a small sept (a subdivision of a clan) of northern Kildare (west of Dublin). This sept's Irish name was O'Tnuthghail which had the roughly equivalent English pronunciation of "new-ale," especially when it appeared in the shortened form of O'Tnuail.

Looking again into the "French connection," Evelyn Wells' "A Treasury of Names" says that Newell is from the Latin, "a kernel or fruit stone" which is exactly what the Latin word "nux, nucis" means. It was this definition that gave rise to the "newel post," so called because of the "nut" or ornament that usually decorates the top of it. Wells says however that the name entered England through the French Noel, a form of Nowell, meaning "Christmas." These definitions begin showing a realtionship to the Latin word for birth which was "natus," thereby referring to the nativity or birth of Christ, hence Noel -- Christmas. The French apparently carried this word through several deviations before arriving at Noel. At any rate, Wells further states that the Christian Italians were the first to use this form of the word for Christmas as Natale. She further states that Bishop Natalis helped to popularize the name in the 6th century. So from these sources, we derive the Italian Natale, the French Noel, and the later English Nowell, Noel, and Newell. There may be a possible relationship between the Latin word giving us Natale and the ancient Hebrew tribal name of Naphtali, however, I have no confirmation of that.

One additional source for the Newell surname was written in Emery's "Newell Ancestry." He states that the name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derived from the word "neowel," meaning "profound or deep." This "character description" was applied during the formation of English surnames and, he claims, was found in early English records as "Neowel, Neuwal, Newel, Neuell, Newall, Neuhall, Newehall, Newhall, and Newell, the last being the most generally accepted form of today." Emery states that the name was of Saxon origin and resident in England before the Norman conquest of 1066.

Noting that the gradual adoption of surnames began appearing in the 12th century, and the invasion of England by the Normans occurred in the early 11th century, it cannot be ruled out that the derivation of the name Newell, even though developing primarily in north-central England, might have been influenced by the Norman French, hence leading to an unknown trail of ancient ancestors. Also note that there was a Newell surname developing just west of Dublin, Ireland. During the Elizabethan period (1558-1603) and quite possibly even earlier, there was an immensely important commercial trade between Chester, England and Dublin. Woodward's "The Trade of Elizabethan England" states that in 1584, Peter Newall, a Chester merchant, was granted a license to export calfskins to Ireland from Chester, Bristol, Bridgwater, and Barnstaple. This must certainly have caused some interflow of people as well. Newells arriving in the American colonies at a later date, and especially after the Revolution, were probably as much Irish as English because their ancestor Newells had gone to Ireland at an earlier date. It is known that many families emigrated to Ulster (North Ireland) after the establishment of the Ulster plantation in about 1610. Several later Newell arrivals in America sailed from Ulster, and there are many records of Newell individuals that simply say "from Ireland."

There is little doubt that the origin of the surname, Newell, as we spell it is English. However, the evidence also indicates that the "namesake," as it was later applied, may have been brought in by the Normans in the 11th century. Since the French and Italian languages are both descendant from the Latin, the words that were used by the Italians may have been the origin of the French words, or they may have come directly from Latin sources. Since the Italian origins can be identified at least as early as the 6th ecentury, it is possible to construe that our surname may trace back to earlier Latin sources.

In conclusion, it seems that our name most likely was derived from "new hall," but strong candidates would have to include "nut hall," "new town," and the nativity. Until each Newell researcher can trace his or her line back to their own particular origin, no one can stake any claim to "the" origin of the Newell surname, least of all that there is "a" Newell origin, or "the" Newell history. And recall, even if all the information was available, many Newell families could be traced back to totally unrelated ancestors due to the application and adoption of the surnames and their source of derivation.


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