This very unusual and interesting name is of English origin, specifically from the West Midlands. It is a diminutive form of the Middle English occupational term 'vewtre' which meant 'keeper of greyhounds'. The derivation is from the Anglo Norman French 'veutrier', from 'veutre' meaning greyhound, of Gaulic origin. The 'fewterer' was the dog-holder, the man who held the dogs on leash until required and then loosed them. One Walter le Feuterer is recorded in the Huntingdonshire Hundred Rolls in 1273. The first recording of the surname 'Fewtrell' is in the earlier spelling of 'Fewterell', as below. One William Fewtrell married Fanny Goss in Manchester Cathedral, on the 11th December 1836. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Fewterell, christened. which was dated 1568 St. Peter's Cornhill, London. during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 'Good Queen Bess' 1558-1603. 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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