This unusual surname is believed to be a patronymic or diminutive development of a personal nickname, itself job descriptive. The development would seem to be from the Old French "Spir" a job description for a maker of hose equipment, specifically bridle and spurs. To this has been added to suffix "el" to indicate "son of Spir" or "Little Spir". The name would appear to be first recorded in Norfolk (North Walsham) on August 19th 1682 when Johannis Spurgel was a witness. However this original spelling showing a change form "go" to "d". An example is William Spurdle (the most recent variant spelling) who married mary Patten on June 18th 1838 at All Hallows church, London wall, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joseph Spurdell, which was dated June 16th 1782, christened at St. Anne's, Soho, Westminster, during the reign of King George 111, "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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.