Oswell Family History

English: of uncertain origin, possibly a habitational name, of which the second element appears to be Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘creek’. The first element may be a short form of an Old English personal name containing the element os ‘god’ (see for example Oswald) or its Old Norse cognate ás (see Osborne). However, the earliest known bearer of the name was Roger Wyswall, who was admitted as a burgess of Shrewsbury in 1450. The English name is found in various forms, including Woosall and Wossald. Irish (Ulster): adopted as an English equivalent of Gaelic Ó hEodhusa ‘descendant of Eodhus’ (see Hussey).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press