The Harrell Family Research Collaborative Database The History of the "Harrell" Surname The Harrell Family Collaborative Database currently contains over 5500 (pre-1900) names with 32 Harrell Family Lines and is the culmination of over 30 years research, resulting in a sourced, illustrated & documented interactive database. Some writers relate the name to a place in Normandy named Harel, while others suppose it developed from Saxton words 'here' and 'weald' which supposedly mean 'army-power'.. Herrell is a name which was recorded in England long before William The Conqueror invaded England in 1066, killing King Harold at the Battle of Hastings.
This brings us to Norsemen and the Vikings, many of whom were related to the Harrald Families of Norway and Denmark. Having researched into the history and old sagas of these families, I am of the opinion that the name probably originated among the Norsemen of Northern Europe.. It was in use by 700 A.D. and came into prominence when Fairhair Harrald subdued all the other Chieftains in Norway and proclaimed himself King of that country. He ruled from about 872 to 935 when his son Erik Bloodax Harraldson became King.. Erik left Norway when challenged by the youngest son of Fairhair Harrald, Hakon Harraldson, who had been reared in the house of the King of England. The name Harrell, variously spelled O'heargaile, O'Harrell, Harrel, Harel, Herald, Harrolds and even Farrell, is the surname of a family or clan tracing its origin back to County Longford in Central Ireland. The first written records of Harrells in Irish history were ecclesiastical records of 1160 A.D. stating they were Erenagne, learned laymen who managed church lands and collected tribute. The family coat-of-arms, picturing a scroll and a hand holding a quill pen, truly illustrates the dominant characteristic of many in each generation -- the eagerness to learn, to create, and the desire to help others do the same. Linguistically inclined, the true Harrell is never at a loss for words. The "Harrell" Name often recorded as Hurran, Hurren, Harrell, Harrill, Horrell, Hurrell, Orrell, this is an English diminutive surname, but of Norman-French origins. Introduced into England at the famous Conquest of 1066, it derives the verb "hurer" meaning to bristle or stand up, and was originally a nickname for someone with a good head of hair. An example of an early recording of the name is that of Richard Horel in the charters of the abbey of Rievalux, Yorkshire, and dated 1154, and John Hurle, in the Oxfordshire Hundred Rolls of landowners in 1273. Later examples taken from surviving church registers of the city of London include Grace Hurrell who was married to Nicholas Reynolds on the 17th September 1627 at St. Gregory's by St. Paul, London, whilst on May 11th 1648, William Horrell married Aphra Thomas at St. Botolphs Bishopgate. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling. It seems the earliest Harrells to arrive in the New World included Henry, Christopher and Thomas Harrell (from Kent, England) in approximately 1640 AD. After 1650 when the Harrells lost title to their clan lands through Cromwellian confiscation, they began to emigrate, many coming to America, settling in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia or in upper North Carolina where today there are still large numbers of Harrells. Just when our own forefathers first landed in this country has not yet been established, but War Department records in Washington, D.C. prove they were here before 1776, for members of the family fought in the Revolutionary War as they have in every conflict down to the present time.   
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