This interesting and unusual name is a variant form of the English surname "Searle" or "Serle" and can also be found as "Serrell". The surname comes from the Norman personal name "Serlo", (from the Germanic "Sarilo or Serilo", which was introduced into England after the Conquest of 1066. The personal name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Serlo", and means "Defender or Protector", after the Old Norse word "Sorli". The name development has included "Hugh Sereleson" (1320, Yorkshire), "William Serell" (1379, ibid.) and "John Seryll", (1553, Oxford). One "Hugh Sirrell" was christened at St. Dunstans, Stepney in July, 1723 and "Elizabeth Sirrell was married to "Samuel Johnson" on the 9th May 1821 at St. Brides, Fleet Street. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam Serle. which was dated 1226, in the Fines Court Records, Berkshire. during the reign of King Henry 111, The Frenchman, 1216 - 1272. 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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