Shotwell History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Shotwell

What does the name Shotwell mean?

The name Shotwell is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in one of the various places called Chadwell in the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, and Wiltshire. Places called Caldwell exist in Warwickshire and the North Riding of Yorkshire. There is also a Chardwell in Essex and a Chardle Ditch in Cambridgeshire as well as a plethora of similarly-named places throughout England. The surname Shotwell is derived from the names of these settlements, which are ultimately derived from the Old English words ceald, which means cold, and wielle, which means spring or stream. 1

Early Origins of the Shotwell family

The surname Shotwell was first found in Essex at Chadwell, a parish, in the union of Orsett, hundred of Barstable. "At the time of the Norman survey, the parish belonged principally to the Bishop of London, and some portions to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, and others. 2 The Domesday Book of 1086 lists the place name was Celdeuuella. 3

Early History of the Shotwell family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shotwell research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1200, 1614, 1640, 1642, 1644, 1689 and 1692 are included under the topic Early Shotwell History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shotwell Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Shotwell are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Shotwell include: Chadwell, Chadall, Shadwell, Chadwel and others.

Early Notables of the Shotwell family

Distinguished members of the family include William Chadwell (born 1614), an English lawyer and politician, Member of Parliament for Mitchell (1640-1644), he supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War; and Thomas Shadwell (1642-1692), an English poet and playwright who was appointed Poet Laureate in 1689. "He was grandson of George Shadwell, and son of John Shadwell of the parish of Broomhill, Norfolk. He claimed descent from the family...
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shotwell Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shotwell Ranking

In the United States, the name Shotwell is the 7,790^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Shotwell migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Shotwell or a variant listed above:

Shotwell Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J Shotwell, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Shotwell (post 1700) +

Gwynne Shotwell (b. 1963), American businesswoman, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX
Prince Elmer "Pete" Shotwell (1893-1978), American football coach, inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame(1971)
Marie Shotwell (1880-1934), American actress of the stage and screen, known for her role in Sally of the Sawdust (1925) with W.C. Fields
Kyle Shotwell (b. 1984), American football linebacker who was signed by the Oakland Raiders in 2007
James Thomson Shotwell (1874-1965), Canadian-born American history professor who played an instrumental role in the creation of the International Labour Organization (ILO)
George Shotwell (b. 1912), American football player who played college football at the University of Pittsburgh (1932-1934)

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)