This unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from the parish of Cundall in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Recorded as "Cundel" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and as "Cundala" in the 1176 Pipe Rolls of that county, the place was so called from the Olde English pre 7th Century "cumb", valley, to which the Scandinavians added an explanatory "dalr", valley. Locational surnames, such as this, were originally given to local landowners, and the lord of the manor, and especially as a means of identification to those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. Regional and dialectal differences subsequently produced several variations on the original spelling of the name which is found recorded in English Church Registers as: Cowndall, Condall, Condail, Cundle and Condell. On July 18th 1566, William Condall and Juliana Stephenson were married at North Allerton, Yorkshire, and on May 26th 1611, William, son of Henry Condell, was christened at St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, London. The surname is recorded in Ireland from the mid 17th Century, particularly in Counties Dublin, Carlow and Wicklow, having been introduced by English settlers. Anne, daughter of John Condell, was christened at St. Nicholas Without, Dublin, on December 2nd 1695. A notable bearer of the name was the actor Henry Condell or Cundell, who took leading parts in plays by Shakespeare in 1616. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Jane Cowndall, which was dated April 26th 1562, marriage to Lawrans Plessington, at All Hallows, Honey Lane, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.