This interesting and uncommon name has two distinct derivations; firstly, it may be of Old French and early medieval English origin, from a nickname for a person with a noticeably round face, or a rounded, plump figure. The derivation is from the Old French "rond", round, with the diminutive suffix "-el", introduced into England after the Norman Conquest and adopted into Middle English as "rond(el), rund(el)". Secondly, the modern surname Rundle, also found as Rundell and Rundall, may be of Anglo-Saxon origin, and a locational name from the place called Rundale in the parish of Shoreham, Kent. The placename is derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "rum(ig)", roomy, spacious, with "dael", valley. An example of the surname from this source is that of Thomas de Rundal, recorded in the Hundred Rolls for Kent of 1275. Examples of the name from London Church Registers include the marriage of Anne Rundle and William Barriffe at St. Gregory by St. Paul, on January 14th 1621, and the marriage of Christopher Rundle and Grace Salter on October 10th 1633, at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Rundel, which was dated circa 1170, in "Documents (relating to) the Danelaw", Leicestershire, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "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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