This is a name which seems to be specific to East Anglia, although its origins are found throughout the Continent. One derivation is from the early Anglo-Saxon and Norse-Viking "Raginwald", a personal compound name of great popularity, which translates as "counsel-rule". The name was popular in the pre 10th Century in England, but became even more so with the 1066 Norman Conquest. The original spelling form was Reynaud and Reinald, and this generally developed into Reynold(s) as a surname. The variant spelling forms are numerous but in East Anglia the forms included Ranyelld, Rannald, Renol(s) and Ranyell, all contributing to the glorious riot of surname spellings. The name recordings include such examples as, Richard Raynaldes, who married Mrs. Madlen Hanibie at Tathwell, on August 23rd 1624, and Richard Ranalls, who married Anne Worsley at Surfleet, on July 24th 1687. On March 2nd 1693, Gregory and Ann Ranyell were recorded at Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire, as witnesses at the christening of their daughter, Magdalen. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Reynold, which was dated 1275, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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