Family name origins & meanings
- Altered spelling of English Fendall, a habitational name from Fenhale in Norfolk, recorded in medieval records as Fendhale.
- Josias Fendall (c. 1620–c. 1687) was granted 2,000 acres of land and appointed colonial governor of MD in 1656. He later established an estate in Charles Co. with his family, including a brother. In 1681 he was found guilty of attempting to raise a mutiny against a subsequent administration; banished from the province, he relocated to VA.