Bromell - Name

This is a locational name 'of Bromhill' from a place thus called in Sussex. The name derives from the Olde English pre 7 century 'brom' meaning broom or gorse and 'hyl(l) - a hill. Such locational names were given to inhabitants who moved either voluntarily or otherwise from their place of origin. The further away they moved, the more the spelling was transposed. Thus in the modern idiom the name has four spelling variations: Brummell, Brommell, Brumell and Bromell. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Bromhulle which was dated 1327 Kirby's Quest of Somerset during the reign of King Edward 111 The Father of the Navy 1327-1377 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.