Recorded in many forms, this is a surname found throughout Europe since the medieval period, in slightly different spellings as shown below. Although originally Ancient Greek, as a surname it is regarded as being of Latin (Roman) origins, of which it has several. In Greek "angelos" described a devine messenger from god, and this was later used as a religious name for places called Angelo, Angeles or Angelos, so as a locational surname it can be from any of these places in Europe. Other potential origins include a nickname for someone with an angelic temperament or appearance, or given the robust humour of the period, the complete reverse, or occupational for an actor, one who played the part of an angel in a mystery play or pageant. The modern surname spellings include Angel, Angell, Aingell (English), De Angelo, D' Angeli, Angelini, Angelo (Italian), Angelet, Angelin (French), Angel (Spanish), Angelo, Anjos (Portugese), and over forty other spellings. Examples of the surname recordings include Robert Angell who was christened on August 28th 1539 at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, city of London (England), and in Italy Lorenza D'Anglie of Borgo A Buggino, Pistoia, on June 25th 1592, and Andrea de Angeli of Groscavallo, Torino, on January 13th 1700. The first recorded spelling of the family name anywhere in the wolrd is probably that of Warinus Angelus. This was dated 1193, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Kent, during the reign of King Richard 1st of England and known as "Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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