This surname of RACHAL is a Hebrew name meaning 'ewe'. The biblical RACHEL was 'beautiful and well favoured' and dearly loved by her husband Jacob. The name is often spelt RACHAEL, and has developed in a number of different directions. The variant RACHELLE had in turn developed the form ROCHELLE, which is an American form of the name, and there is a place so called ROCHELLE Park in New Jersey. The Spanish form of the name RAQUEL has come into use since it was made famous by the actress RAQUEL Welch. It was not until the 10th century that modern hereditary surnames first developed, and the use of fixed names spread, first to France, and then England, then to Germany and all of Europe. In these parts of Europe, the individual man was becoming more important, commerce was increasing and the exact identification of each man was becoming a necessity. Even today however, the Church does not recognise surnames. Baptisms and marriages are performed through use of the Christian name alone. Thus hereditary names as we know them today developed gradually during the 11th to the 15th century in the various European countries. A notable member of the name is Elisa RACHELS (1821-58) the French actress, born in Mumpf in Aargau, the daughter of Alsatian-Jewish pedlars. Brought to Paris about 1830, she received singing and elocution lessons, and made her debut in 'La Vendeene' in 1837 with moderate success, but in June 1838 appeared as Camille in 'Horace' at the Theatre Francais, and from then on she was unrivalled in classical roles. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. The lion depicted in the arms is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour. |
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