Origin of the Surname:

    Right now, our knowledge of the root of our surname is sketchy. We believe the name came from the Scottish "Athol," which is a clan region in Scotland. People often took the name of the county of their birth as their last name. It is remotely possible that we are descended from the royal Stuart of Athol line, but this is merely a guess. The name was spelled many different ways once it reached America. Thomas Ethell, who was given a land grant in Virginia in 1646, spelled his last name "Ethell," but his descendants had their names listed as Athol, Ethall, Ethel, Ethill and Ethol in various rent rolls, court documents and census sheets. The Scottish "Athol" is pronounced "eh'-thell," thus the variants we find in the United States. If you have any information on the meaning of the surname or its origins, please submit that, using the form available on our Submissions Page. Thank you!