Mardell Family History

Probably a variant of Marden with -dell substituted for -den. The surname Marden occurs in Essex, Herts, and Kent from place-names in those counties; it has a long history in Stanford Rivers (next to Marden Ash) where Murdall is recorded in 157, Epping where Mardell appears in 1740 is just to the west of Stanford Rivers.

Marden Ash is in Tewin (Herts) where the 1572 bearer of Murdall is recorded. Perhaps a reduced form of Mardley from Mardleybury in Welwyn (Herts) which is recorded as Merdelai in 1086, Mardele in 1274, and Mardeleye in 1327.

The place-name derives from Old English mearð ‘marten, weasel’ + lēah ‘wood, woodland clearing’ with a late addition of burg ‘fortress’. The reduction could have been motivated by confusion with the name in (1).