Carswell
A surname from place-names in Devon and Berkshire, meaning someone who came from or lived near a local spring or stream-side settlement.
The #5,448 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,317 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Carswell is a locational surname taken from one or more English place-names, especially the Devon parishes of Abbots Kerswell and Kings Kerswell, and also a Berkshire Carswell. The ending -well is the familiar Old English word for a spring or well, while the first element is usually taken as an old personal name or descriptive element that has become obscured over time. Because the place-name forms vary in early records, the exact first element is not entirely certain.
History
Medieval records show forms such as de Carswell, de Kerswell, and related spellings in Devon, Berkshire, and Shropshire, which supports a local origin for the surname. The name spread beyond its original counties as people moved and were identified by their place of origin. It is also found in Scotland in later records, probably carried there by migration rather than arising independently.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname appears in several spellings in medieval documents, which is typical of English locational names before spelling became standardized.
From the historical record
“CAR STAIRS. A parish in Lanarkshire. CARSWELL. A parish united with Buclvland, co. Berks. CARTER. The occupation — a driver of carts. In medieval documents Carectariua and Le Carectar, CARTERET. A parish adjoining Bar- neville, in the arrondissement of Valognes, in Normandy, immediately opposite to Jersey. Its…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom