origin of name - purnell
This interesting English surname with variant spellings Parnell, Parnall and Parnwell derives from the medieval female given name Parnell, a diminutive of the Latin Petronilla, feminine of Petronius (Peter). Petronilla, was the name of a saint much invoked against fevers and regarded as a daughter of St. Peter.It became one of the most popular of girl's names, the vernacular Parnell being still used as a christian name as late as the 18th Century in Cornwall.The name Purnell (without surname) appears in the Cartulary of Oseney Abbey, Oxfordshire (1249) and the surname is also first recorded in the mid 13th Century.etronilla, was the name of a saint much invoked against fevers and regarded as a daughter of St. Peter. It became one of the most popular of girl's names, the vernacular Parnell being still used as a christian name as late as the 18th Century in Cornwall.