Recorded in a number of spellings including Quarles, Quarlis, Quarless, and possibly others, this is an English surname. It is locational and specific to the county of Norfolk being from a hamlet called Quarles in the former "Hundred of North Greenhoe". The name is locational which is to say that it is usually a "from" name. This was a name given to people for easy identification, after they left their original homes and moved somewhere else. This could be the next village or far away in another county, although London was the choice for most people unless they had made specific arrangements. Spelling being at best indifferent and local dialects very thick, soon lead to the growth of variant spellings. In this case the name is probably first recorded in the town of Berverly in East Yorkshire with the entry of Richard Quarles, given as being a husbandman formerly of Norfolk, in the 17th year of the reign of King Henry V11, or 1502, whilst Francis Quarles, a famous religious poet, was born at Romford in Essex in 1592. Alice Quarless married John Evans at St Mary Abchurch in the city of London, on January 29th 1584. The place name is believed to originate from the Olde English pre 7th century "hwerfel" meaning stone circle, a reference to an early religious site.

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