Newell Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Newell Origin:

England, Scotland

Origins of Name:

The surname Newell, which is also spelled Newhall and Newall, can be spelled three different ways, and has three potential meanings. It is possible that the surname Newell derived from living near or at a “new hall” or would also be used as calling someone who worked in one by that name. It could also be derived from the Old English words “neowe” which is defined as new, and “heall” which is defined as hall. However, there is also a possible third meaning, which is someone who lived near or in the “Newhall” township, which was located in both Cheshire and Yorkshire. Due to this, the prevalence of the Newell, Newhall, Newall name is more highly concentrated in Cheshire and Yorkshire, than in other areas.

Variations:

More common variations are:

Newuell, Noewell, Newelly, Newel, Newll, Nwell, Newall, Newill, Knewell, Newelle, Nowell, Nawell, Newhall, Newell, Newiell, Newwell, Neweall, Nnewell, Newello,

History:

England:

The surname of Newell was first recorded in the latter part of the twelfth century, and was also seen as part of the early census taken by the Kings of Scotland to assess taxation. However, an early spelling of Niewehal, would be recorded in 1195. The name Robert Stirling Niewehal was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire, during the rulings of King Richard I, who was nicknamed “Richard the Lionheart.” These Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire spanned ten years, from 1189-1199. In 1379, Hugo de Neuhalle was mentioned in the “Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire, while in 1383, John de Newhalle was named in the “Pardons Roll of Cambridge.” According to the record, the surname Newell, or any variation, did not appear in recorded history until one hundred and sixty-eight years later, when Susan Newell was christened in 1551, in the church of St. Margaret in Westminster. Seventy-nine years after that, in 1630, Richard Newell was named in the “Chester Wills”, and twenty-six years later Robert Newell was wedded to Ann Collier at St. Nicholan, Rochester in the December of 1656. It is important to note that when the English Poll Taxes were imposed, surnames became necessary for personal taxation. Due to the literacy, or lack thereof, the spellings of surnames changed based on the location, as well as the phonetics of the recorder. Many people with the surname Newell migrated to Australia, New Zealand, and Nova Scotia from England.

United States and Canada:

During The Great Migration, many people with the surname Newell arrived in the United States of America and a few migrated to Canada. Members of the Newell clan arrived in Salem, Massachusetts and New England in 1634, while many more came to Virginia, New England, and Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century. In Canada, Jas Newell arrived in Nova Scotia. In the nineteenth century, Margaret Newell, age 51, and Jonas Newell, age 40, arrived in America in 1821, while James C Newell landed in New York in 1832. Eight years later, Thomas Newell landed in Alleghany County, Pennsylvania in 1840, and ten years after that, in 1950, R A Newell arrived in San Francisco, California.

Newell Today:

United States 37,001

England 9,077

Canada 3,782

Australia 3,563

Jamaica 1,535

South Africa 986

Northern Ireland 799

New Zealand 601

Germany 572

Mexico 523

Notable People:

Arthur H. Newell, was a Delegate to New Hampshire State Constitutional Convention from Dunbarton in 1956, and was also a politician from America

Norman Dennis Newell (1909-2005) taught geology at Columbia University in America

David Newell (born in 1938) was an American actor, and portrayed the delivery man, Mr. McFeely, on Mister Roger’s Neighborhood

Robert “Doc” Newell (1807-1869) Oregon Country fur trapper, and politician in the United States

Miss Marjorie Anne Newell, was a twenty-three-year-old woman who escaped the sinking of the RMS Titanic via a lifeboat, and was a First Class Passenger from Lexington, Massachusetts

Miss Madeline Newell, was a thirty-one-year-old woman who escaped the sinking of the RMS Titanic via a lifeboat, and was a First Class Passenger from Lexington, Massachusetts, escaped on the same lifeboat as Miss Marjorie Anne Newell

Mr. Arthur Webster Newell (died in 1912) was a fifty-eight-year-old man from Lexington, Massachusetts who perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic, who was also a First Class Passenger

William Wells Newell (1839-1907) was a teacher, minister, philosophy professor, and folklorist in America

Allen Newell (1972-1992) worked for the RAND Corporation as a researcher in computer science and cognitive psychology in America

Arthur S. Newell (born in 1850) was a politician and U.S. Consular Agent in Waterloo from the year 1886 to 1901

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (Adwell. co. Oxford; granted 1755). Ar. on a cher, engr. az. betw. three wells ppr. as many cinquefoils of the field. Crest—An Italian greyhound ppr. collared, dovetailed or, charged on the shoulder with a cinquefoil ar.
2) (England). Same Arms. Crest—Out of a mural coronet az. a lion’s head or.
3) Gu. two hautboys in saltire, the sinister surmounted of the dexter betw. four crosses crosslet, all or.
4) Ar. three bars gu. over all a bend engr. sa.