Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 Burwell Coat of Arms / Burwell Family CrestThe associated coat of arms for this name are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. This ancient English surname of BURWELL was a locational name meaning 'one who came from BURWELL' a spot in Cambridgeshire. The name was originally rendered in the Old English form BURGWELL, literally meaning the dweller at the spring or stream by a fort. The earliest of the name on record appears to be BUREWELL (without surname) who was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. BUREWELL (without surname) was recorded in Cambridge in the year 1203, and BURGWELL (without surname) was documented in 1292. Surnames can be divided into four categories; place names, occupation names, nicknames and patronymics. PLACE NAMES are the largest group and covers all those names first applied to people who lived in or nearby to a particular place. For example, Grove, Wood, Field, Meadow, and Street are obvious. Occasionally names were taken from obscure villages or hamlets which no longer exist and this can make research confusing. OCCUPATION NAMES cover nearly all trades which existed in the Middle Ages. These are numerous. It does not necessarily follow that such names as King, Duke, Earl and so on mean your ancestors were of noble blood. It is much more likely that such named people worked for the person referred to. NICKNAMES. This is a smaller group but in many ways more interesting. They usually originated as a by-name for someone by describing their appearance, personal disposition or character but which became handed down through the ages and did not apply to their descendants. For instance the name Black would denote a dark man, Little, someone small (or even somewhat ambiguously) someone tall. PATRONYMICS. This group covers all names which derive immediately from the owner's father. Many christian names which are also surnames have, over the years, lost the possessive form but the origin is still the same. Examples of this could be names such as Peter,Thomas, Henry - all names which became both christian and surnames over the years. A minor notable of the name was Wilford Hudson BURWELL, born on the 22nd January, 1906. He was a dentist and writer, and many articles of his were published in dental magazines and journals. |
