Cornish Chellew Family Origins

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: Chellew Chilew, Chilewe Chelew

Cornish Chellew Name Origins

The surname Chellew is a habitational name of Cornish descent specific to Ludgvan, Cornwall.^[1] Interestingly, “the name Chellew is thought to be derived from the Cornish word "chel," meaning "to hide" or "to conceal," suggesting that the name may have been associated with individuals who were skilled at hiding or concealing something.”^[2]

Hmmm, seems like we might have been smugglers straight out of Daphne du Maurier's Cornish novel, Jamaica Inn. Or, more likely, we were Cornish tin miners, seeing as we lived in Cornwall. One of the funniest sources, of the Chellew name, comes from a G2G post on WikiTree explaining , “the name is derived from the Cornish language and means the family who lived by the Cow shed,”^[3]meaning we didn’t even get to live in the cow shed.

No matter the less than noble origins of the name Chellew, here we will work together to find and memorialize our ancestors.

Sources

1. ↑ Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
2. ↑ https://crestsandarms.com/pages/chellew-family-crest-coat-of-arms#:~:text=The%20name%20Chellew%20is%20thought,at%20hiding%20or%20concealing%20something.
3. ↑ https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/42652/were-the-chellew-family-from-jewish-roots#:~:text=the%20name%20is%20derived%20from,lived%20by%20the%20Cow%20shed.