This name, with variant spellings Archibold, Archibould, Archbutt, Archbell, Archbald, Archanbault and Archambault, derives from the Norman given name "Archambault", composed of the Germanic elements "ercan" meaning "precious" plus "bald", bold and daring. The name was introduced into England by followers of William the Conqueror after the Conquest of 1066. One Archembold Wiverum was recorded in the 1130 Pipe Rolls of London, and one Erchenbaldus, Abbot of Dunfermelyne, was recorded in the Register of Holy Trinity Abbey, Scone, circa 1180; he also appears as "Arkebalous" and "Arkenbaldus" in the same records. The surname is first recorded in England in the early 13th Century (see below), and other early recordings include: William Ercmebaud, a witness in the 1239 Fine Court Rolls of Suffolk, and a Robert Archebalde, who had a charter of the Hospital of Roxburgh in 1390 from Robert 111 of Scotland. In 1545, one John Archibald was a witness in St. Andrews, "Calendar of the Laing Charters", 854 - 1837. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Archenbold, which was dated 1210, in the "Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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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