This unusual and interesting name is of Norman, French, Origin, and is a metonymic occupational surname for someone who was employed as a groom, or who was responsible for keeping young horses. The derivation is from the Old French word "Poutrel", also recorded as "Potrel, Pultred, Putrel, Peutrel and Poudrel", Colt, from the Latin "Pultrellus", from "Pullus", young animal. The variety of Old French forms of the word goes some way to account for the number of variant forms of the modern surname; it can be found as Putterill, Puttrell, Potterell, Potterill, Pottrill, Powdrell, Powdrill, Purtill and Poutrel. In some cases the surname may derive from a medieval nickname for someone thought to be of a frisky, lively disposition, like a colt. One, Johan Puttrell married Hugh Redyinge on May 11th 1550, at St. Stephen's, Coleman Street, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Roger Putrel, which was dated 1166, The Red Book of the Exchequer, Essex, 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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