My Family Tree Thomas Alfred Attrill's story History of H. Attrill &Sons IOW

Welcome to the Attrill Family Genealogy site.  We are Rod and Moira Attrill, I am from Hampshire, Moira is from  West Wales where we now live (homepage). The Attrill family - with its various spellings originated on the Isle of Wight where the vast majority still live. Many others are in Hampshire - most in the Portsmouth and Gosport areas. Katie Fuller has produced an Attrill surname distribution map for 1881 that shows more than 80% of British Attrills lived in Hampshire (including the  IOW). It does not show Attrills in Dorset though. Click here for a copy of that map.

The name Attrill has a number of present day derivatives, Atrill, Attrell, etc. However, the earliest records show a far wider variety of spellings from those found today. Some of these from the Isle of Wight Records Office archives are listed below:

• Trill , John, 1406, a mason.
• Tryll, Richard 1555 (of Chillerton)
• Atrel,  1559.
• Attryll, Alice 1560, (of Carisbrooke.)
• Tril, Thomas 1571 (of Shorwell)
• Atril, John 1571

John Trill of Lower Rill Farm, Billingham (1570) offers a possible explanation for the origin of the name. He may have been known John at rill (John Attrill). I have heard a number of other explanations of the name, but this one seems to be one of the more feasible.

My Great Grandfather was born in Whippingham on the Island and like many others Islanders of the last century joined the navy and traveled the world. He eventually settled in nearby Gosport where my Grandfather was born. My family tree - going back to the eighteenth century is HERE.

On this site I hope to post information that will help other Attrills in their quest for their roots. I will be pleased to post a link to your own web page or to include your Attrill information, question, or enquiry on the 'Messages' page.

There is another Attrill Family history page with a message forum at genealogy.com.