Astle is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

of dual origins. In the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

, the

is certainly of

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

origin. This is also a possibility in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

yet the name there more probably originated as a locative surname.

Origin in the East Midlands

The surname ''Astle'' originated in

Mercia la, Merciorum regnum , conventional_long_name=Kingdom of Mercia , common_name=Mercia , status=Kingdom , status_text=Independent kingdom (527–879)Client state of Wessex () , life_span=527–918 , era=Heptarchy , event_start= , date_start= , ye ...

, England. In the

, the name was derived from the Old Norse name '' Ásketill'' , from '' áss'' meaning "god" and ''ketill'' meaning "cauldron". References to a king ''Asketil'' who with three other kings in 874 sacked

Repton Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to 2,8 ...

, are found in 12th-century surveys by the Monks of Burton Abbey. This was during the campaign of King Ceolwulf II and the

Great Heathen Army The Great Heathen Army,; da, Store Hedenske Hær also known as the Viking Great Army,Hadley. "The Winter Camp of the Viking Great Army, AD 872–3, Torksey, Lincolnshire", ''Antiquaries Journal''. 96, pp. 23–67 was a coalition of Scandin ...

to overthrow King

Burgred Burgred (also Burhred or Burghred) was an Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from 852 to 874. Family Burgred became king of Mercia in 852, and may have been related to his predecessor Beorhtwulf. After Easter in 853, Burgred married Æthelswith, daug ...

. The four kings were allocated lands in a partitioned Mercia corresponding to the modern shires of Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester. To this day, the largest grouping of Astle families is still concentrated in a relatively small area of South Derbyshire and East Staffordshire, close to the River Trent.

Origin in Cheshire

While the spelling 'Astles' prevails in

, the regular spelling of 'Astle' is also common. However, its origin in this area may be distinct. As the Danes occupied Cheshire via the west coast, it is possible that other men named 'Asketil' lent their name to the people of the region. However, it is more likely that the name is this area derives from the hamlet of ''Astle'', previously ''Asthull'', a contraction of "east hill". Thus it is a locative surname.

Alternative Spellings

The following alternative spellings are related to the name 'Astle': Astel, Astell, Asthul, Astill, Astels, Astles, Astull, Astyll and Asketil. The

Astley is 'not' related.

Historical Occurrences

The first recorded spelling of any variant of the family name dates to circa 1225 during the reign of King Henry III when the 'Episcopal Records of Lichfield', Staffordshire, make mention of 'Simon de Astell'. The evolution of the name can be observed in the register of the Black Prince's administration (1346–1365) where it records that: 'In 1365, one Robert Astel of Hazelbech, Northants, asked the Black Prince to confirm his rightful ownership of one of his lands in Hazelbech. He produced a document providing that the land had been given to 'William son of Asketil of Hazelbech and his heirs'.' Robert Astel was of course one of these heirs. A 'Register of the Freemen of the City of York' dating from 1349 includes 'Richard de Asthul'.

Coat of arms

The shield of the Astle coat of arms is

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

(

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

) symbolising martyrdom, military strength or warriors. It contains a white

cross crosslet A number of cross symbols were developed for the purpose of the emerging system of heraldry, which appeared in Western Europe in about 1200. This tradition is partly in the use of the Christian cross an emblem from the 11th century, and increasin ...

in each corner, indicating that the family engaged in the Crusades. At its centre is a 'lion passant', the upper body of which is 'or' (gold), according to the common English tradition, while the colouring of its lower body may signify the Danish origin of the family.

Crest

The Astle family

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

is a

seahorse A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...

couchant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figur ...

ducally gorged. It originated in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

. The seahorse symbolises the power of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

Motto

The Astle family motto is ''Sub cruce glorior'' ('The glory of the Cross').

People

The following famous people have the surname 'Astle': *

Alec Astle Alec Morrison Astle (born 5 August 1949) is a former New Zealand cricketer who played two first-class matches for the Central Districts in the 1978–79 season. He also played for Manawatu in the Hawke Cup. He was born in Feilding. He is the f ...

(born 1949), former New Zealand cricketer *

David Astle David Astle (born 9 November 1961) is an Australian TV personality and radio host, and writer of non-fiction, fiction and plays. He also co-hosted the SBS Television (SBS) show ''Letters and Numbers'', as the dictionary expert, in company with Ri ...

(born 1961), Australian writer *

Jeff Astle Jeffrey Astle (13 May 1942 – 19 January 2002) was an English professional association football, footballer who played the majority of his career as a centre-forward for West Bromwich Albion. Nicknamed "the King" by the club's fans, he played ...

(1942–2002), English association footballer *

John Astle John Chandlee Astle (born March 31, 1943) is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. He served four terms in the Maryland State Senate and three terms in the Maryland House of Delegates representing Maryland's d ...

(born 1943), American politician *

Nathan Astle Nathan John Astle (born 15 September 1971) is a former New Zealand cricketer, who played all formats of the game. A right-handed batsman who played as an opener in One Day Internationals (ODI), while batting in the middle order in Test matches ...

(born 1971), New Zealand cricketer *

Thomas Astle Thomas Astle FRS FRSE FSA (22 December 1735 – 1 December 1803) was an English antiquary and palaeographer. He became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society. Life Astle was born on 22 December 1735 at Yoxall on the bo ...

(1735–1803), English antiquarian *

Todd Astle Todd Duncan Astle (born 24 September 1986) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays for the New Zealand national cricket team. Astle began his cricket career as an opening batsman, representing New Zealand in the 2006 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, bu ...

(born 1986), New Zealand cricketer

References

External links

Name Distribution in England & Wales
{{surname, Astle English-language surnames Patronymic surnames