This unusual and interesting name is a variant form of the name "Jekyll", itself of Breton or Cornish origin and deriving from a Celtic personal name, in Old Breton "Indicael", composed of elements meaning "Lord", with "generous, bountiful". The name became "ledecael" and later again "Gicquel", surviving in modern French as "Jezequel". A 7th Century saint named "indicael" was a King of Brittany who abdicated and spent the last part of his life in a monastery. The modern English surname, found in its native areas of Devon and Cornwall, is also found in areas of Breton settlement such as East Anglia and Yorkshire. The variants of the name "Jekyll" include "Jiggle", "Jewell", "Jockle", "Joel", "Jowle" and "Joule". Anne Jewell and Nicholas Boane were married at St. Giles Cripplegate, London, in August 1568. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Juel, witness, which was dated 1247, in the "Bedfordshire Assize Rolls", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024