Worrall Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Worrall Family History

Worrall Family History

The ancient origin of the name Worrall was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Worrall include Worrell, Worrel, Worral, Worrill, Whorall, Whorell, Wyrril and many others. This name is usually of English origin and is a locational name derived from the Wirral in Cheshire and from the village of Worrall that is near Sheffield in West Yorkshire. Locational names are derived from placenames and describe someone who lived near a physical feature such as a tree, hill, river or church, or from habitations such as a town, village, farmstead or County. The Wirral in Cheshire is recorded as 'Wirhealum' and "Wirheale" as early as the year 894 in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The root of the name are the words 'wir' meaning a bog or marsh and 'halh' meaning a flat piece of land near a river. An early record of the name refers to a Roger de Wyrhal who was recorded as being a witness in the 'Assize Court Rolls of Yorkshire' in the year 1219. A William Worrall was recorded in the 'Sheffield Manorial Records' in the year 1517.

Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by the method of creating and updating these old reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.

In Ireland this name and its variants were introduced into Ulster Province by settlers who arrived from England and Scotland, especially during the seventeenth century. During the 'Plantations of Ireland' in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Ireland was colonized by the English Crown with this period marking the end of Gaelic supremacy in Ireland. This period brought an influx of settlers into the country but, unlike the earlier Anglo-Norman invasion of the twelfth century that resulted in a full integration into Irish society of the new arrivals, the same never occurred with the Ulster Planters who maintained their own distinct identity.

The Worrall family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Worrall descendants.