I began this study to try to understand how my family was connected to other Rowsell families in my area of South Somerset. My 3 x great-grandmother was born a Rousell, in Merriott, Somerset and I wished to find out her family's heritage. There seem to be various pockets of the surname in Somerset which use the different spellings. When I have collected information about if or how the Somerset families are connected, I hope to be able to find more information about the possible origins, as there are various sources that suggest the surname is itself derived from the surname Russell and/or Rosewell.

Rousell and Rowswell are the registered surname variants for this study, although I hope to make a note of any other spellings that might be considered merely spelling mistakes. This study will mainly focus on Rowsell, Rousell and Rowswell.