This interesting surname of Scottish origin is a locational name from the parish of Carmichael in Lanarkshire. The surname dates back to the early 13th Century, (see below). The present Carmichael is used as a translation or equivalent of the Gaelic MacGillemichael from the Gaelic elements "mac" meaning "son of", "gille" "a servant" plus the personal name Michael. Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Carmechele, Carmigell, Carmichaill, etc.. Anne, daughter of Robert and Anne Carmichaell, was christened at St. Dunstan, Stepney on March 13th 1634. Martha, daughter of John and Jane Carmichel, was christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, on July 10th 1635 and John, son of John and Mary Carmichael, was christened on June 25th 1704, at St. Martin-in-the-fields, Westminster. John Carmichael, together with his wife Isabella, and sons Joseph, Isaac, John and Samuel and daughter Susanna, famine emigrants, sailed from Liverpool aboard the Henry bound for New York on November 20th 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Creimechel, which was dated 1225, "Liber Cartarum Sancte Crucis, Edinburgh", during the reign of King Alexander 11, 1214 - 1249. 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.

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