The surname of ARKINSTALL was a locational name 'of Artinstall' which was an obscure spot in Lancashire and there was also a place of the name in Cheshire. Place names as family names come from many different centuries and many different countries. They come from places where the original holder of the name lived or had once lived. They indicate the precise locality in whatever way made most sense to other people at the time. In fact very often this kind of name was given to people by their contemporaries, sometimes as nicknames which just stuck. For example if people were living in a foreign country others often called them by the name of their country of origin. Or if they were living in an area of their own country populated by others of a different ethnic origin they may have been called a name which indicated that. If people - whether in their own country or not - were living in a different County, City, Town or Village than the one from which they came (or were thought to have come!) they have often been called by a name to indicate their real or supposed place of origin. Even within a small village or country parish the name of a farm where they lived or of a hill or river or other landmark near their home has often been used to distinguish one person from another especially when personal names (such as Saints names) were very common and weren't enough to clearly identify one individual. Early records of the name mention Elizabeth Artonsall of Mottram, who was baptised at Prestbury Church, County Chester in the year 1578, and John Arstall of Hales was listed in the Wills at Chester in the year 1590. William Arstall married Jane Booth in the parish of Bowden in Chester in the year 1596. The first hereditary surnames on German soil are found in the second half of the 12th century, slightly later than in England and France. However, it was not until the 16th century that they became stabilized. The practice of adopting hereditary surnames began in the southern areas of Germany, and gradually spread northwards during the Middle Ages. The name has many variant spellings which include Artingstall, Artinsall, Artstill, Arkstall and Arthekill. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884.