This unusual name, recorded in London church registers under the variant spellings Farrall, Ferrall, Fairall etc., has two distinct possible origins, the first and most likely being an English topographical name from residence by a fair nook. The component elements in this case are the Old English pre 7th Century "foeger", beautiful, fair or lovely, plus "healh", a nook, recess or retired place. The surname is first recorded towards the middle of the 14th Century, (see below). The second possibility is that the name is a dialectal variant of the Irish name Farrell, from the Gaelic O Fearghail, descendant of Fearghal, a personal name composed of the elements "fear", a man, plus "gal", valour. One, William Farrall was christened in All Hallows, London Wall, on February 21st 1591. Mary Fairhall and George Farmer were married in St. Marylebone, London, on February 2nd 1674, and on October 18th 1772, Joseph Fairall married a Sarah Lagdon in St. Leonard's, Shoreditch. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas atte Fayrehale, which was dated 1332, in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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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