12,225 Global SELLS Family Members

SELLS Family History

This interesting surname has two distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, Sells may be of early medieval Germanic origin, deriving from the Middle High German "geselle", journeyman, companion, cognate with "gefahrte", companion, partner, and originally given as a nickname to a companionable person. In the Middle Ages, the term may have been used to denote someone who accompanied a nobleman on his travels, or it may have indicated a relative or kinsman. One Heinricus dictus Geselle, mayor of Reutlingen, was recorded in 1274 (see below), and a Johann Selle of Strassburg was noted in 1303.