Surname

The names Morrill and Morrell represent closely allied families. Most people in America who spell their name Morrill with an “i” are descended from Abraham Morrill of Salisbury. However, Abraham’s own brother Isaac spelled his name “Morrell”. The spelling in the area of England where these brothers originated is generally “Morrell”, going back as far as Sir Geoffrey Morrell, Lord-of-the-Manor of Morrell Roding in 1316 — most likely derived from the French name “Morel” and ultimately the Norman conquest.

The New Dictionary of American Family Names (Elsden C. Smith) indicates the origin of the names Morrill, Morrell, and Morrall is “the little dark-complexioned man; descendant of Morel (dark-complexioned).” The Dictionary of British Surnames (P. H. Reaney) gives “brown, swarthy as a Moor.”

Although our ancestors may have spelled their name in one of these ways, it does not always appear so in historic documents. Town clerks often spelled things phonetically, resulting in “Marl”, “Morl”, “Moril”, “Morril”, and other variations. The predominant spelling in a given area tended to be favored, so Morrills in Maine are often found in documents with an “e”, and Morrells in Massachusetts are often found with an “i”.

Coat of Arms

I know of no official coat of arms for descendants of Abraham Morrill. Sir Geoffrey Morrill, a Knight and Lord-of-the-Manor of Morrell Roding, Essex, England in the 1300s, probably had a coat of arms, but no research on this subject is known. Three designs for a coat of arms that have been adopted by Morrills:

1. He beareth azure, two griffins rampant or, supporting a diamond argent, by the name of Morrill.
2. He beareth sable, a leopard’s head jessant-de-lis or, in the dexter chief a lion passant.
3. Argent, embattled fesse gules charged with three palm branches of the field between six Cornish choughs proper.