Hi Judy,
Thank you for the information on the variations on the above surname however, it is Cail
that I am interested in. From what I know of this name it has not changed since the
family, who were Huguenots, fled from the town of Melle, France in 1674. There is a
family vault and several individual graves in the Protestant churchyard of ST Pierre in
Melle and I am presently searching the records of the French churches in London and
Southampton to establish how the family increased and diversified after their arrival in
England. There are Cail records in Ringwood, Fordingbridge, Wimborne, Winchester and
Southampton in the south of England, then moving north through Walsall, Middlesborough and
Newcastle Upon Tyne. Throughout there is no variation to the spelling.
The name is still in use in France and I am in contact with several French families in the
Melle area who have the same name spelling. It is quite rare and in fact there are only
363 births are recorded in the UK since 1837 with this surname.
I would be grateful for any information that any lister has on this family.
Many thanks for your interest.
Len Cail