This interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is locational from a place called Mardale Green in Westmoreland first recorded in the Feet of Fines of 1278 as "Merdale". The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century "mere", lake, and "dael", a valley. During the Middle Ages, as people began to migrate further a field, it became customary to adopt the placename, as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. The following examples illustrate the name development after 1591 (see below) Daniel Mardoll (1637 St Mary's, Whitechapel, Stepney), Rowland Mardall (1700, St Lukes, Old Street, Finsbury), Thomas Mardle married Elizabeth Waller on April 11th 1784 at St Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, London Joseph Mardale (1795, St. Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Mardell (marriage to Agnes Morland), which was dated July 18th 1591, at Brough under Stainmore, Westmoreland, 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.