Sorrell is a variation of the English place name Soar, which described the man who lived near the river Soar, which was name from Breton sar = to flow. Occasionally, Soar derived as a nickname for the man with reddish hair, from Anglo-Norman-French sor = chestnut (as in the color of dried leaves). Sor, Saur, Saura are cognates. Diminutive forms are Sorrel, Sorrell, Sorrill, Sorel, Soreau, Saurel, Soret, Sauret, Saurin, Saury .

The name has been variously spelled, and seems to have been merely a matter of preference as to the number of "r's" and "l's" necessary to complete the name.  We find recorded SORRELLS, SORREL, SORELL, SORRELLE, SORRAL, SOREL, SORALS, SORAL, SOWALL, SARLES, SEAWELL, etc.  However it is thought that the name was originally spelled SORREL, many early records tend to show this.

It is said that the family is of noble birth, holding the title of "Earl of Warren".  This line goes back through a long line of the old world nobility, including early Kings of Britian, and some of the most beloved, and some of the most hated Kings and Queens of Scotland and France.  In the Thornton Chart, you will find the royal lineage of the Earl of Warren going back to William the Conquerer in 1066.  The connection or descent of the SORRELLS family through the Fowkes brings so then a long line of distinguished royal ancestory.  At a period of about five hundred years elasped between the time of William the Conquerer and the earliest records of the SORRELLS family in American, it is evident that a mass of unrecorded history is still shrouded in the past.

The name has rather a French look and France perhaps was a first name of the family.  Many branches of the SORRELLS family claim to be of Scotch-Irish extraction.  The family moved on from Scotland to Ireland and here many marriages occurred. 

The SORRELLS name appears four times in 'Next of Kin,' a volume published many years ago in England, listing American families whose ancestors had left money and estates in England in trusts or in the banks.  The name may be found in the counties of Essex and Suffolk, England.

One tradition says the SORRELLS family fled from France during the persecution, and came by way of Norway.  Another is that there were three brothers (the three brothers crop up in almost every family) who came from England to America and settled in Maryland and Virginia, later going to North Carolina.  Some of the descendants of these immigrants pioneered into other states.  Now a few of them may be found in almost every state of the Union.  They are chiefly farmers and professional men, some have become noted newpaper men.  There have been a few who aspired to political honors, others have been preachers and merchants.  As a whole, they have been noted for the shrewdness, their brilliant intellects, their integrity, and their true worth.  The SORRELLS are, and always have been, valuable and most hightly respected citizens in the states in which they have lived.

The SORRELLS Coat of Arms has the Duel Coronet, showing descent from Kings and Queens, also indicating that the family is of great ________"  (Written by: Marion Dewoody Pettigrew, Pine Bluff, AR)

"The surname SORRELL and it's derivatives (Sorrel, Sorel, Sorrells, etc.) is of French origin.  In French it literally means reddish-brown, which in English translates to auburn.  Sorrell's accompanied William the Conqueror, later know as William I, in 1600 when he conquered Brittany and then installed himself as king.  As was custom, all surviving soldiers were given land (hence the axioms, "to the victor go the spoils," and the "spoils of war.").  When the Great Book, the book (s) which contained all the historical family lineages, coat of arms, etc., was begun, a Briton (aka. Englishman) wrote the descriptions of the people he was documenting in such a way that one could later determine precisely what their lineage was.  The SORRELL's are described as 'fair-skinned with reddish-brown hair'.    When Britain decided to colonize the Americas they went to the Great Book, determined exactly "who" was not of strict/pure Anglo origin, and taxed them into oblivion.  Once these people could not pay their taxes, they were given the choice of either debtor's prison or a 'free one-way trip" to the colonies!'

Sorrel

1. Sorrel is the 45,352nd most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.000%; percentile is 85.135 [SourceCBN]
2. Sorrel, Louisiana, United States [Place] is in St. Mary Parish; location is 29°53'20"N 91°37'0"W; elevation is 17 feet; was named in year 1970 [SourceGSP]

Sorrell

1. Sorrell is the 3,698th most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.003%; percentile is 59.600 [SourceCBN]
2. Sorrell, Missouri, United States [Place] is in Sullivan County; location is 40°12'54"N 93°1'13"W [SourceGSP]
3. Sorrell, Virginia, United States [Place] is in Caroline County; location is 37°57'15"N 77°11'46"W; elevation is 180 feet [SourceGSP]

Sorrells

1. Sorrells is the 5,083rd most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.002%; percentile is 63.428 [SourceCBN]
2. Sorrells, Arkansas, United States [Place] is in Jefferson County; location is 34°9'39"N 92°3'57"W; elevation is 280 feet [SourceGSP]

Sorrelle

1. Sorrelle, Texas, United States [Place] is in Wharton County; location is 29°20'20"N 96°9'34"W [SourceGSP

   Sorrels

2. Sorrels is the 14,754th most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.001%; percentile is 75.115 [SourceCBN]
3. Sorrels, Oklahoma, United States [Place] is in Le Flore County; location is 35°1'45"N 94°38'48"W; elevation is 506 feet [SourceGSP]