Ramsell Family History

English:: perhaps a habitational name from Ramshill Farm in Donhead Saint Mary (Wiltshire) or Ramshill Copse in Winterslow (also Wiltshire) recorded as Rameshull in 136. The placenames may derive from Old English ramm ‘ram’ (genitive rammes), hramsa ‘wild garlic’, hræfn ‘raven’ (genitive hræfnes), or an Old English personal name Hræfn (genitive Hræfnes) + Old English hyll ‘hill’.

However, the modern distribution of the surname suggests at least in some cases a different origin, probably from a lost or as yet unidentified place in the West Midlands. Perhaps occasionally also a habitational name from Ramsholt (Suffolk) recorded as Ramesholt in 1086 and Ramisholt in 129.

The placename probably derives from Old English hramsa ‘wild garlic’ + holt ‘wood, grove’, though the first element might alternatively be either ramm ‘ram’ (genitive rammes) or hræfn ‘raven’ (genitive hræfnes).