Denzel

Denzel is a rather obscure given name popularized by the highly talented African-American actor Denzel Washington who burst onto the Hollywood scene in the late 1980s. Apparently the actor was named after his father, but it’s uncertain from where his father received the name. We do know that the name originated from a place name, Denzell, in Cornwall, England, which itself was taken from a surname. The Cornwall estates known as Denzell Manor (located near Newquay) were so named after the Denzell family who became extinct in the male line on the death of John Denzel (d. 1535). John Denzel – who served as the legal expert/attorney to Elizabeth of York, Queen Consort of England (the wife of King Henry VII and mother of King Henry VIII) – left his vast estates to his two daughters, and through marriage, The Denzell Manor passed in part to the Holles family who perpetuated Denzel or Denzil as a given name in honor of their ancestor. Located in the southwestern most tip of England, Cornwall is considered one of the Six Celtic Nations (along with Ireland, Isle of Man, Scotland, Wales and Brittany), and the Cornish language is Celtic-Brythonic (rather than Celtic-Gaelic) which is more closely related to Welsh rather than Irish or Scottish-Gaelic. Denzell is thus believed to be derived from an ancient Cornish word meaning “high stronghold” or “hilltop fortress” (although no one knows for certain).