Terrell (surname)
| Terrell | |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Meaning | Possibly referring to Tirel, an ancient village on the banks of the Seine, near Paris.[1] |
| Region of origin | Europe |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Terrill, Tyrrell, Tirel, de Tirel, Tyrel, and Terral |
The name Terrell (or Terrill) is an American surname possibly derived from the name of an ancient village in France, located off the banks of the Seine, near Paris. The immigrant ancestor was Richmond Terrell, who settled in New Kent County, Virginia from England in 1656. The most notable members of the family in the United States are descended either directly from him or his close relations.[1]
Statistics
In the United States, the surname ranked as the 946th most common surname in the 2000 U.S. Census. There were 33,914 individuals recorded at that time using the surname Terrell, and of these, 57.43% identified as being white, 38.31% black, 0.27% Asian and Pacific Islander, 0.77% American Indian and Native Alaskan, 1.47% as Hispanic ethnic origin and 1.75% of more than one race.[2]
Ancient Origins
Antenor, King of the Cimmerians
The earliest known patrilineal ancestor to the Terrell family was Antenor, King of the Cimmerians. The Cimmerians were a people inhabiting the shores of the Sea of Azov. Antenor lived before 443 B.C.[1]
Ralf, Sire de Tirel
The first person to use a variation of the name Terrell was Ralf, Sire de Tirel and Poix, Seigneur of Guernanville, Chatelain of Pontoise, Viscount of Amiens. He was 56th in the line of descent from Antenor. Through both of his grandfathers, he is descended from Pepin le Gros, great-grandfather of Charlemagne.[1][3]
Ties to the British Royal Family
Sir Thomas Tyrrell of Heron, 72nd in the line of descent, married Anna Marney, daughter of Sir John Marney, Knight of Essex. Anna Marney was fourteenth in the line of descent from William the Conqueror and a fifth generation great-granddaughter of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile.[1][3] As a result, subsequent generations of Terrells are blood related to the following members of the British Royal Family:
- Elizabeth II
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Terrells in America
Richmond Terrell
Richmond Terrell, 79th in the line of descent from Antenor was born in Reading, England in 1624. After his father and grandfather, he was among the third generation of descendants to use the current spelling of the surname. He emigrated to the United States in 1656 and settled in New Kent County, Virginia. His brother William Terrell (born 1629) appears to have arrived in America sometime between 1658 and 1665. It is not known whether his brother stayed in the U.S. or returned to London. Richmond had several children including a son also named William. It has been speculated that this William is the same William Terrell that later married Susannah Waters, but due to a lack of documentary evidence, this has not been proven to the satisfaction of many historians.[1][4]
William Terrell who married Susannah Waters
This William Terrell was born around 1659 and died around 1743.[1] He married Susannah Waters and is a direct ancestor to several notable Terrells in the United States as well as other Terrell descendants including Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.[4] Among historians, there is a lack of consensus regarding which of the early Terrells in America he is directly descended. One theory is that he is the son of the immigrant ancestor Richmond Terrell, but he may also be descended from Richmond's brother William. Gary Boyd Roberts in his authoritative volume, Ancestors of American Presidents, covers only nine generations of Carter's ancestry (going back to Joel Terrell, William's son) and ten generations for Obama (going back to Hannah Lewis, William's granddaughter), so the issue is not addressed in their respective ahnentafel charts.[4] In Reitwiesner's ancestry chart of Obama, despite covering sixteen generations, does not list any ancestors for William Terrell.[5]
Matrilineal descendants
Besides Barack Obama and Jimmy Carter, notable descendents of William Terrell and Susannah Waters that do not carry the Terrell surname include Ken Kesey, J. H. Rush, Leslie Rush, and The Flying Keys.[5]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Tyrrells of Heron, from whom the Tyrrells of Springfield and the Tyrrells of Thornton and from whom William Tyrrell (or Terrell) of Virginia are descended is described as follows:[3]
- Arms: Argent, within a bordure engrailed, gules, two chevrons, azure.
- Crest: A peacock's tail issuing from the mouth of a boar's head, couped, erect.
- Supporters: Two tigers, regardant.
- Motto: Sans Dieu Rien. (Without God, Nothing).
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dicken, Emma. Terrell Genealogy. San Antonio, Texas: The Naylor Company.
No one has produced any proof that the William Terrell who married Susannah Waters was the son of William who was born 1629. The fact that Robert Terrell, in his will, named his nephew, William, son of brother William, cannot be accepted as proof, so there is as much evidence that William, of Hanover County, was a son of Richmond as that he was a son of William b. 1629.
- ↑ "Top 1000 Names". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- 1 2 3 Terrell, Edwin H. (1909). Further Genealogical Notes on the Tyrrell-Terrell Family of Virginia and its English and Norman-French Progenitors. San Antonio,.
- 1 2 3 Roberts, Gary Boyd (2009). Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society.
- 1 2 Reitwiesner, William Addams. "Ancestry of Barack Obama". William Addams Reitwiesner Genealogical Services. Washington, DC. Retrieved 21 October 2014.