This interesting name is the German diminutive (the "el" denoting either "little" or "son of") form of the name Bartholomew, itself a patronymic "the son of Talmay" or "bar - Thalmay", a Medieval personal name meaning "having many furrows" i.e. "rich in land". As a forename Bartholomew became very popular in Christian Europe, because of the name bearer, St. Bartholomew, patron of vintners and butlers. The name is first recorded as Bartholomeus in the Social and Economic History Documents of London, (12th Century). The surname is first recorded in the 13th Century, as Bartelmeu, Bartolomeus and present day spelling Bartholomew. One William Barthel married Ann Wilder on October 14th 1795 at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Bartelmeu. which was dated 1273, The Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire. during the reign of King Edward I, The Hammer of the Scots, 1272 - 1307. 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.