Verralls

This interesting and unusual name is a variant form of Verrall which is of Anglo-Saxon origin; it is a localized dialectal pronunciation of the Old English pre 7th Century placename "Fierol" (now called Firle) from a place near Lewis, in East Sussex, and means' one, who is resident at the place covered by oak trees. The village name is first recorded as "Firolaland" in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles of 790 A.D., and as "Ferle" in the Domesday Book of 1086. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognisable distinguishing names. The modern surname can be found as Verrall, Verrill, Verrell, Verrelle and Verralls. Among the sample recordings in London are the christening of John, son of John and Mary Verralls, on January 28th 1770 at St. Andrew's, Holborn, and the marriage of Sarah Verralls and Abner Elmslie on august 8th 1799 at All Hallows, Staining. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johanna Ferrall, (marriage), which was dated 1575, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.