Worrell
A mostly English surname usually linked to places named Worrall or Wirral, with some uncertainty in the older scholarship.
The #3,313 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,532 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The 19th-century surname writers usually treated Worrell as a locational name. Harrison connects it with Worrall in West Yorkshire, analyzing the second part as an old word for a hall and the first part as probably an Old English personal name or element; Bardsley also ties many Lancashire and Cheshire bearers to Wirral. In short, the name likely began as someone identified by their place of origin, though the precise place-root explanation is not entirely settled.
History
The name is well attested in medieval and early modern English records in forms such as Worrall, Worrell, and Worrill. Historical writers note especially strong concentrations in Cheshire, Lancashire, and adjacent areas, which fits a northern English locational origin. The spelling Worrell appears to be a later variant alongside the more common Worrall form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older genealogical dictionaries specifically say that many Lancashire and Cheshire Worralls came from the Wirral district.
From the historical record
“WORRALL WORRELL WORRILL , This is the origin of most of the Cheish. and Lane. Wcrrralls, &c. 2 Bel. to Worrall (W. Yorks) [here the second elem. is app. O.N.E. AaW, a hall (there is a Worrall Hall) : the first elem. is prob. an A.-Sax. pers, name (early forms ^ are wantirig) in Wcer- (O.E, w(&r, ' - true) : cp…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)