The surname Maxwell is of Scottish origin. It is a habitational name from a place near Melrose in the former county of Roxburgh. the placename is first recorded in 1144 in the form Mackeswell, ‘spring, stream of Mack’. A family could acquire a place name as a surname under three different circumstances: 1. the gentleman lived or worked in or near some topographical formation or landscape feature, either natural or artificial. 2. he formerly lived in a village and thus acquired the reputation of being from that place. 3. he owned or was lord of the village or manor designated. However, it is safe to say that in most cases a manor or village name merely identifies the place where the original bearer of the name formerly resided; as is the case with the surname Maxwell. It is also a name adopted by Jewish people or an anglicization of one or more like sounding Jewish names. The name dates back to the eleventh century were a Herbert de Makeswell is recorded in historical archives. The name was brought to America by Scottish immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a William Maxwell, who em…
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