English Beginnings
1. What does my name mean?
2. Origination of the Name
3. The Spelling of the name: YarnOLD, YarnAll or YarnEll
4. Letter from Lorna Yarnall York concerning research on English roots.
5. Some references in a letter by Miss Anna Yarnall to some early history of Yarnalls in Worcester, England.
6. References to Yarn*l name in Worcestershire Histories
7. History of Oddingley Parish,Worcestershire, England
8. The "Yarnold Window" in the Church of St. James Oddingley, Worcs.

Personal Histories & Biographies
9. Aaron Yarnall of Harrison County, Ohio; short bio
10. Agnes Yarnall - Sculptor
11. Bruce Yarnell - Actor.
12. Carolyn Yarnell - musician
13. Celeste Yarnall - Actress.
14. Cy Yarnell, Royal Canadian Air Force, WWII; "Reflections of a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Harvard Instructor".
15. Sgt. Donn Yarnall - animal trainer.
16. Ed Yarnall, Major League Baseball Pitcher - Personal Profile.
17. Edith (Yarnall) Sharpless - A Testimony
18. Life History of Fr. Edward Yarnold SJ
19. Notes on Elizabeth (Yarnell) Kizer of Champaign Co., Ohio.
20. Ellis Yarnall - some personal history.
21. George W. Yarnell - recollections of the U.S. Civil War.
22. Harry Ervin Yarnell, Admiral, U.S.N. - Biography.
23. Henry Yarnell of James County, Tennessee. An account of his murder.
24. Henry J. Yarnell of Christian Co., Illinois.
25. Henry "Hugo" Yarnold, of Worcester, England, cricket player.
26. Jacob Yarnell of Ohio and Indiana - Biography.
27. James W. Yarnall of Texas Co., Missouri.
28. Jared G. Yarnell of Berks Co., Pennsylvania - Biography.
29. Jerry Yarnell - painter.
30. Jesse Yarnell, a co-founder of the Times-Mirror Company, publisher of The Los Angeles Times newspaper (references). See also:
31. History of early Press in Los Angeles Co., Calif.
32. John Jolliffe Yarnall - Some details.
33. Lemuel Washington Yarnell - Early Manhood.
34. Lorene Yarnell biography, of the Shields & Yarnell Mime Duet.
35. Lucas Yarnell, bio., defensive player for Grand Rapids Rampage (Arena Football League) football team.
36. Rev. Milford Vance Yarnelle
37. Nathan Yarnall - A Testimony.
38. Peter Yarnall - his capture during the Revolutionary War.
39. Rachel (Yarnell) Penrose, Discussion of her parentage, etc.
40. Rob Yarnold, broadcaster for the British Broadcasting Company.
41. Rusty Yarnall, Philadelphia Phillies.
42. Dr. Thomas Yarnold, of Monmouthshire, England, and Douglas Co., Kansas.
43. Walter Kennett Yarnold of Huntingdon, England, cricket player.
44. William A. H. Yarnell of Searcy, White Co., Arkansas - Biography.
45. William C. Yarnall of Miami Co., Indiana - Biography.
46. William Edward Yarnold of Lake Scugog, Ontario.
47. A link to a site with historical details about General William Yarnell Slack, grandson of Lydia (Yarnall) & John Slack. He was a lawyer and a Confederate General from Missouri.
48. Biography of Ziba S. Yarnall, of Gage Co., Nebraska.

Branch Histories
49. Yarnold descendants in New South Wales, Australia
50. Some History of the Yarnells of Searcy, White Co., Arkansas.
51. Records of the Yarnall family in St. Charles County, Missouri.
52. A New Zealand - Yarnold connection.
53. Early Settlers in Edgmont Twp., Delaware Co., Pennsylvania.
54. Early Settlers in Barry Twp., Schuylkill Co., Pennsylvania.
55. Some History of the Yarnalls of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
56. Notes on research on the Yarnells of Centre County, Pennsylvania.
57. A History of the Yarnall family of Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania.
58. Some Yarnells in Crawford Co., Kansas.

Miscellaneous Stories
59. A Story of Francis Yarnall & a court case involving a boar from 1686.
60. Rufus Jones, D. Robert Yarnall, and the Nobel Peace Prize for 1947.
61. Early History of Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, Philadelphia, Pa.
62. Water Works, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear, U.K.
63. Green-Yarnall Log Cabin, newspaper article from St. Charles, Missouri.
64. Anti-Slavery Petition to the United States Congress.

Welcome to YARN*LL Country!
   Yarn*ll place names
65. Yarnell, Yavapai Co., Arizona
66. Yarnallton, Fayette Co., Kentucky
67. Yarnell, Lincoln Co., Montana
68. Yarnell Island, Lake Koocanusa, Libby, Montana
69. Yarnell, Centre Co., Pennsylvania
70. Yarnall, Carson Co., Texas
71. Yarnell Community, Panola Co., Texas
72. Yarnell, Sawyer Co., Wisconsin

Some quotes:

"The name is English in origin and means 'dweller at the slopes where eagles were seen: descent of Arnold. Eagle-ruler."

- Elsdon C. Smith, Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Harper, 1956. pg 241.

"The name YARNALL is of English origin... On page 358 of a publication found in the Rare Book Section, United States Library of Congress, entitled "Early American Families":
"Yarnall, Arms, Azure, a cross engrailed, or. (Burkes General Armory) and according to Bardsley, YARNOLD or Yarnall was a baptismal name meaning 'Son of Arnold'."

- A Partial Genealogy of the Name Yarnall-Yarnell, 1683-1970,
by Harry H. and Ruth (Brookman) Yarnell; pg x.

A deconstruction of the name into its parts reveals:

The Name Yarnell is derived from an old English name; Yarnold.
The "Y-" part is from "YE", which in old English meant "son of" or "family of", much like the Scottish "Mac" (e.g. MacDonald) prefix or the Irish "O' " prefix (e.g. O'hara). The "y-" prefix is derived from the Anglo-Saxon "ge-" perfective prefix; in the basic sense meaning 'together', which is appropriate reference to a clan.
The "-arn-" part of the name is derived from "earn" - eagle, or from the term for "aerie" which means "the nest of an eagle or other bird of prey" and also "a house or stronghold on a high place."
The "-old" part of the name is derived from the term for "hold" meaning "a stronghold; a fortified place; a fort; a castle; a place of security", or, alternatively, from "hald" meaning "a neck or hollow".
The name descends from a clan centered in Worcestershire, England, mainly living north of Worcester and south of Droitwich Spa. Descendants have settled in most of the Anglo-Saxon colonial areas; Australia, Canada, and USA. In Australia, the most common spelling is "Yarnold", as it is in Great Britain. In the U.S., the most common spelling of the name is as "Yarnell", except in southeast Pennsylvania where it is more commonly spelt "Yarnall". In Indiana, it is frequently spelt "Yarnelle".

Some quotes:

"All bearing this unusual surname in America are Descended from either one of two brothers, Francis Yarnall the Elder, or his brother Philip, who came to America in 1683, a year after William Penn had taken possession of his new Commonwealth. The home of these brothers had been at Cloynes in the county of Worcester, England."

- Yarnall Family Record in America, from 1683 to 1913,
by John K. Yarnall, Chicago, Dec. 1913.

"It is believed that the majority, if not all Americans, bearing this surname are descended from two brothers, Francis and Philip Yarnall..."

- A Partial Genealogy of the Name Yarnall-Yarnell, 1683-1970,
by Harry H. and Ruth (Brookman) Yarnell.

Further research has found others with the name. On our page for Ship Passengers and Immigrants, you'll find quite a few others who came from England to North America, including two early immigrants to Virginia, Thomas Yarnell in 1662 and Richard Yarnall in 1691. No record has yet been found on whether these two early immigrants survived the rigors of the New World and had children.

However, analysis of christening and wedding records in Great Britain show that, by far, most Yarnolds & Yarnalls were from Worcestershire in the English Midlands. These are likely to be descendants of the several brothers and uncles that Francis and Philip left behind when they moved from Worcestershire to Pennsylvania.

Thus a better statement would be that the vast majority of Yarnolds, Yarnalls and Yarnells - in all Anglo countries - can claim descent from the Yarnall/Yarnold clan whose home was in Worcestershire, England.

Over time, many descendants of Francis and Philip Yarnall, in several branches of the family, began spelling their last names as YARNELL. Following is one documented instance of the reason why a branch made the switch.

From Yarnall Family Record in America, from 1683 to 1913, by John K. Yarnell, Chicago, December, 1913: "Several branches of the Yarnall family have spelled the name Yarnell for several generations, but not until 1887, when the Writer moved to Chicago did he find it desirable to adopt the latter spelling.

"In Chicago, (the most cosmopolitan city in the world) 90% of the inhabitants are foreigners, or the children of foreigners; coming from every part of the world civilized, half-civilized, and uncivilized, it was impossible to make these people understand the name as it should be pronounced or write it as we pronounced it. This annoyance has been lessened by spelling the name Y-A-R-N-E-L-L, with the accent on the last syllable, which is now used by the Writer and his family."

An analysis of the name in the index for the 1870 census for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. shows the following statistics.

Chester County:
28 names; # spelt Yarnall: 26 or 93%; 2 spelt Yarnell or 7%.

Delaware County:
43 names; # spelt Yarnall: 39 or 91%; 4 spelt Yarnell or 9%.

Philadelphia:
17 names; # spelt Yarnall: 8; # spelt Yarnell: 9, split almost 50/50.

Other Pennsylvania counties:
49 names; # spelt Yarnall: 8 or 16%; # spelt Yarnell: 41 or 84%.

A simple observation seems to indicate that as family members left the home counties of Chester & Delaware the name was more likely over time to become Yarnell. And the names of those staying in those two home counties tended to remain Yarnall. This is a marked difference; 84% of out-state spellings are with an e, while 92% in the home counties are with an a. And Philadelphia splits evenly.

The same trend is evident in the U.S. Social Security Death Index. The name Yarnall was more likely to occur in Pennsylvania, while the majority of names when spelt Yarnell were outside of Pennsylvania.

Further, in the United Kingdom, the name is more likely to be spelt in the older form Yarnold. Although a majority are spelt Yarnall or Yarnell, a plurality of households are spelt Yarnold.
Analysis of British telephone records from 10th month 2000 shows:

References to Yarn*l name in Worcestershire Histories
Source: Gill Lawley, Of the Parish Here and There, A History of Martin Hussingtree, Anmar Publications, Worcester, U.K., 2000.