Darwall Family History

In Kent, perhaps from Darwell (earlier Darvell) in Mountfield (Sussex), recorded as la Derefold in 1320, denoting a deer fold (Old English dēor + fald). However, the time gap between the medieval surname and the modern is too great to be confident of a likely genealogical connection. This may also stem from Dorhall (Farm) in Chaddesley Corbett (Worcs), recorded in 1505 as Dorewall, which probably denoted a spring where deer or wild animals drank (Old English dēor + Old English wælle).

However, the lack of medieval forms for either the place-name or the surname makes this explanation doubtful. Alternatively, it may be a reduced form of the lost surname Derwalshawe, which originated in Grappenhall (Cheshire). According to Place-Names of Cheshire 2 p. 141, this surname is attested there and in Chester from 1288 to 1360. The final element is Middle English shawe, meaning ‘wood’, suggesting that the surname derives from a lost place-name ‘wood at the spring used by wild animals’ or ‘Dēorweald's wood’.

This etymology depends on whether Derwal- has the same origins as the place-name in the first theory or represents a personal name. Another possibility is that it comes from the Middle English personal name Derwald, which is derived from Old English Dēorweald. The elements of this name denote either ‘wild animal’ or ‘dear’ combined with ‘power’. As a surname, it appears in Suffolk and Norfolk: Simon Derwall in 1211 in Feet of Fines (Suffolk); Herueus Derwald in 1327 and 1332 in Subsidy Rolls (Norfolk); and Herveius Derwald in 1379 in Poll Tax (Fring, Norfolk).

However, in Warwickshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire, where Darwall and Darwell are well evidenced from the 16th century, no medieval evidence for Derwal(d) has yet been found, except perhaps in the locative surname mentioned earlier in the second theory. Further context can also be explored under Darvill.