This very interesting name is of French origin and is medieval job descriptive for a worker or contractor, one who was employed by the day (jour). The name is recorded Heraldically in the Channel Islands (Jersey) as Journeaulx, the Coat of Arms being a gold lobster on a blue field. Oddly the first recording in the modern spelling is from the Colony of Virginia, where one John Jornall is recorded as being 'on the muster' of Mihell Wilcockes at the first census in 1624/5, which probably means Christmas 1624. His subsequent fate is not known, but the name does not appear in the 1679 roll. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Jornall which was dated 1624 Elizabeth Cittie, Virginea (as spelt) during the reign of King James 1 of England 1603-1625 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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