Tunnell
An English surname that likely began as a nickname or pet form, probably related to old personal names such as Tunn or similar Germanic short forms.
The #9,652 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 91,834 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Tunnell is probably not from the modern word "tunnel." Nineteenth-century surname scholars usually treated it as a diminutive or short-form name, linked to old Germanic personal names such as Tunn, Tunila, or similar forms found in early medieval records. One suggestion in the literature connects it with an Old English personal name like Tunweald, but the evidence is not firm, so the safest view is that it comes from an old given name rather than a place or occupation.
History
The name appears in English surname lists in several spellings, including Tunnell, Tunnay, Tunn, Tunny, and related forms. Its historical treatment by scholars suggests it belongs to a family of old Germanic pet names that survived into medieval English surnames. Today it is a relatively uncommon surname, with bearers concentrated mainly in the United States and English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century writers grouped Tunnell with other surnames that look unrelated today, because they believed many were descended from very short medieval personal names rather than descriptive words.
From the historical record
“Wayman. Tunnell. Valiant. Wailes.”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames