This unusual name derives form a Norman (post 1066) personal name, Gumbald - a compound of the Germanic elements "qund" meaning battle and "bald" bold or brave. The suffix "bald" was corrupted to "bold", later to "boil" and then to "abel" and "brell". In the modern idiom, the name has three spelling variations:- Gumboil, Gumbel and Gumbrell. The latter form is well recorded in London church Registers from the mid 18th Century onwards. In 1748, Sarah Gumbrell, an enfant, was christened in St. Botolphs without Aldgate and on October 27th 1771, Thomas Gumbrell married Catherine Hackett in St. Bartholomew the Less, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Durandus Gumboldus. which was dated 1148 - The Winton Rolls of Hampshire. during the reign of King Stephen - Count of blois, 1135 - 1154. 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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