This most interesting name is of Old French origin, deriving from two possible sources. Firstly it may be a metonymic occupational name for a maker of crossbow bolts or a nickname for a short, but powerfully built man, coming from the Old French "quar(r)el", a bolt for a crossbow. Secondly, it may be a nickname for a troublemaker, from the Old French "querel", complaint, accusation. Both French words are found in the Middle English language, with the same meaning, and gave rise to the English surnames Quarrel and Quarrelle. Other modern French variants of the surname include Car(r)eau, Carrelet and Carrel. Yvo Quarel was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Huntingdonshire, circa 1175 and one John Quarel was listed in the Close Rolls of London in 1343. The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire record one Johannes Qwarell in 1379. Elizabeth Carrell married William Jordayne at St. Helens, Bishopsgate, London on August 13th 1597. Ten Coats of Arms were granted to Carrell families in London, Sussex, Kent and Ireland. The Sussex/Kent Coat of Arms depicts on a black bend a rose between two gold griffins heads erased, within an engraved silver bordure, on a silver field. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Osbert Quarel, which was dated circa 1175 - 1176, in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset, during the reign of King Henry 11, "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.

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