Brundell - Name

This interesting name is of Medieval English origin and is a dialectal variant of the locational name Brundall from a place so called in Norfolk. The earliest spelling of this placename is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Brundala', in the Assize Rolls of 1257 as 'Brundhal', and in the 'Calender of Charters and Rolls in the Bodleian Library', circa 1180 as 'Brundale'. Brundall is derived from the Old English pre 7th Century 'dromede', droomy and 'halh', a remote place. During the Middle Ages when it was becoming increasingly common for people to migrate from their birth place to seek work they would often adopt the village name as a means of identification. Lydia Brundle was christened on September 6th 1696 at Shelfanger, Norfolk. In the modern idiom the surname has several spelling variants including Brundall, Brundell and Brundle. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Brundall, which was dated July 7th 1661, at Surlingham, Norfolk, during the reign of King Charles 11, known as 'The Merry Monarch', 1660-1685. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.