Hi Margaret and Owen Davey, Thank you for your prompt replies. Yes it looks as though it is an Irish name. Before I found that they came from Ireland, In my searches I found many of the variant names in France. Obviously I did not find a connection there. So now I shall try to find out more about them. Thank you and a Happy New Year to you both. Norm ----- Original Message ---- From: conaught2 <conaught2@charter.net> To: nir-down@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, 31 December, 2007 6:24:32 PM Subject: Re: [NIR-DOWN] Is CARVEL an Irish name. Hi Norm, Yes Carvel is an Irish name. McLysaght who is the definitive word on origins of Irish surnames states in THE SURNAMES OF IRELAND- "Mac Carvill Mac Cearbhaill. Formerly anglicized MacCarroll. An Ulster sept noted for its musicians." The Griffith's Valuation shows all the Carvel, Carvil, Carville, Carvill families in various counties in the Province of Ulster. The majority of the names in the Griffith's Valuation is spelled Carvill. The Irish are notorious for variations in name spellings. You might even find the the name spelled 2 different ways on the same legal document. The Griffith's Valuation has the following CARVEL in County Down, but there are others in County Down with the name spelled CARVILL Index to Griffith's Valuation of Ireland - 1863/64 for County Down Carvel, Hugh County - Parish : Magheradrool, Townland: Drumsnade Carvel, William - Parish : Kilmore,Townland: Rademan Carvel, William -Parish : Magheradrool,Townland: Drumsnade Wishing you a Happy New Year. Your family is definitely of Irish origin. Beannachtai, Margaret (Máiread) ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NIR-DOWN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message