Last name: Atrill This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon
origin, and has two possible sources; the first being that it is
topographical for a "dweller by the hill", deriving from the
Middle English (1200 - 1500) "att", at, with the Olde English
pre 7th Century "hyll", a hill. However, the alternative source
of this name may be the later West Country development,
surviving in placenames as both Rill and Rull, and thus Atrill,
and its variant forms Attril and Attrill, would be a locational
name from either of these places, for example "atte Rill".
Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since
both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided
easily recognisable distinguishing names in the small
communities of the Middle Ages; while locational surnames were
developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another
area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name
of their birthplace. Recordings from Devonshire Church Registers
include the marriage of Edward Atrill a