Recorded as Bramwell, Bremwell, Brimwell and Brumwell, this is an English surname. It is or was locational from a lost medieval village possibly in Cheshire, which was probably cleared and the former inhabitants dispersed to make way for sheep pastures, around the 17th century. The placename was composed of the pre 7th century words "brom", meaning broom or gorse and "waella", a spring. The surname itself is first recorded in the 12th century (see below), and other examples from surviving church registers include Homfrey Bramwell christened at Mobberly, Cheshire in August 1582, while Elizabeth Brimwell married Humphrey Hales at Nantwich, Cheshire on February 2nd 1616. Richard, the son of Robert and Abigaell Bremwell was christened at St. Dunstan, Stepney, London on November 3rd 1670, and Joyce Brumwell was christened at St Giles Cripplegate, on April 21st 1723. George William Wilshere Bramwell or Baron Bramwell (1808 - 1892) was appointed Lord Justice 1876 - 1881 and raised to the peerage in 1882. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mathew de Bromele. This was dated 1150, in the Pipe Rolls of Cheshire, during the reign of King Stephen of England, 1135 - 1154. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.