This interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a locational name from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets that have now disappeared from Britain. The prime cause of these "disappearances" was the enforced "clearing" and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 15th Century. Natural causes such as the Black Death of 1348 also contributed to the lost village phenomenon. The original place is believed to have been in Devonshire or Somerset, where "Yeo" is a common name of streams, deriving from the Olde English pre 7th Century "ea", river, which in the dialects of these counties has given "yeo". The second element of the placename may be the Olde English "dael", valley; hence "valley of the river". Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. Recordings of the surname from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Edward Yendoll and Edythe Hoop on June 12th 1565 at North Petherton, Somerset; the marriage of Robert Yendle and Ann Masters on April 11th 1621 at West Hatch, Devon; and the christening of Thomas, son of Thomas Yendle, on July 15th 1654 at Lynton, Devon. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Mathew Yendoll, which was dated September 18th 1559, marriage to Elizabeth Mylls, at North Petherton, Somerset, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "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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