Arundell

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A family name of English origin, carried by several historical families, including a prominent noble lineage in Wiltshire
2. An English surname shared by various historical families, some of them prominent landowners and aristocrats
3. A traditional English family name borne by a number of notable people and gentry households over the centuries

Etymology: Arundell is an English surname taken from the town of Arundel in West Sussex, which lies on the River Arun. Families who held land there, or came from it, took its name, and the double-l spelling is one of several variants that arose as the name was written down by different scribes. The place name is usually read as the river name plus "dell," a valley, though the origin of the river name itself is uncertain. The name is best known through the earls of Arundel, a title that passed through the Fitzalan family and later the Howards, who still hold it today. Arundell is therefore a record of a place and the people who held it.