Drewell

This interesting name is one of the English diminutive forms of the personal name "Drew", which was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066 in the Old French forms "Dru, Driu", and "Dreu". The Normans adopted the given name from the Old German "Drogo", of uncertain etymology, but thought to be a survival of the Old Saxon "drog", ghost, phantom, or with a stem derived from the Old High German verb "fragan", to bear, carry. The personal name was extremely popular in medieval Europe, particularly France, because "Drogo" was the name of one of the sons of the great Charlemagne. It is recorded as "Drogo" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and as "Dru" in 1185. The diminutive form "Druet" is also recorded as a given name in the 1206 Curia Rolls of Suffolk. The modern surname, "Dru" with the diminutive suffix "et(t)", can be found as Drewett, Drewitt, Druett, Druitt, Drouet and Drewell. Thomas Drewett and Rose Wallis were married in London on June 3rd 1689. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Druet, which was dated 1185, in the "Records of the Templars in England", (Oxfordshire), during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.