English
The surname Arnald is of English and German origin.It is derived from a Norman personal name composed of the Germanic elements 'arn' eagle and 'wald' rule.It was introduced into Britain by the Normans.An early saint of this name,whose cult contributed to its popularity,was a musician at the court of Charlmagne.He is said to have been a Greek by birth;it is not clear how he acquired his Germanic name.The name as a given name had died out in England by the end of the Middle Ages,it was revived in the nineteenth century,along with a large number of other medieval Germanic names.The name may be a habitational name from one of two places,in Nottinghamshire and Humberside,both in England.Both places are so named from the Old English elements 'earn' eagle and 'halh' nook,hollow.The name of both places has been assimilated to the given name from earlier Ernhale,Arnhale.The name is also borne by Jewish people and his derived of uncertain origin.The name has been adopted by the Irish to replace the native Ardgal.The name dates back to the twelfth century were a Stephen Arnold is recorded in historical archives.A famous Victorian era poet and essayist bore this name,Mathew Arnold,who traced his ancestry to fisherman in Lowestoft,Suffolk,in the time of Henry VII.This name is the one hundredth and fifty-third most common surnmame in America.