Brickell Name Variations

The different spelling variations seem to have a geographic pattern:

In the Shaftesbury, Dorset area the two most common variations are Brickle and Brickell, and for some early evidence within some family lines these become interchangeable (even for the same person). The Brickell variant however becomes more dominant over time.

In the Northenden, Cheshire area however there are more variations with Brickill, Brickhill, Brekel, Brekell, Breckell as well as Brickell occuring; the Brickell variant again becomes more dominant over time.

Another common variant is Bricknell, but so far as I can ascertain this is a distinct 'clan' that seems to be concentrated in the Hampshire and Oxford area.

An interesting phenomenon however is the frequency at which a maternal surname is adopted as a middle christian name (identically for either a boy or girl), thus creating a series of sub-clans in which the practice persists for many generations. This is of particular interest to myself since the name Stacey had been used as a middle name within my family for many generations and until we found the marriage between Edward Brickell and Harriet Stacey on 25th February 1808 we didn't know why !

Some of the sub-clans identified so far from the Shaftesbury area:

If you have any information on other variants or indeed have any of these names as one of your middle names please contact me. To return to the main contents page click here: Contents

Information reviewed or updated 27th June 2004

 

Site managed by Enmore Services