Gambrell
A surname most likely arising from a medieval personal name, though the exact origin is uncertain.
The #6,530 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 59,489 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The evidence is thin, but Gambrell is generally treated as an English surname formed from an older personal name rather than from a place or occupation. The ending looks like a later variant spelling, and the older references point toward a baptismal or given-name source, possibly related to forms such as Gumbel/Gombel or other Continental Germanic names that were adapted into medieval England. The first element may be connected with an old personal-name stem rather than a meaningful modern word, so the literal sense is not fully secure.
History
The surname is uncommon and appears in English and later American records. 19th-century surname writers grouped it with other names of apparently baptismal origin, but they did not agree on a precise derivation. In the United States it remains a relatively rare family name, with regional concentration typical of names carried by small immigrant or colonial family lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley’s notes suggest the name belonged to a wider cluster of similar-sounding surnames rather than standing alone as a clearly explained form.
From the historical record
“belonged to this stock. (Gambrell), London, i ; Ffiiladelpbta, t. GumbrelL— Bapt ; v. GumboiL Gumm.— Bapt ; v. Gom*.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)