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The surname "Dargavel"

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"Dargavel" was the name of a place in southern Scotland, a county, I believe. Today there is still an estate, with a mansion, in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, Scotland called the "Dargavel House". The county of Dargavel was located in that area (see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/ScotlandRenfrewshire.png for a map of Scotland, with Renfrewshire highlighted). However, at the RootsWeb.com database (see http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?surname=Dargavel&given=), there are many records of people with the last name Dargavel who came, not from Renfrewshire, but South Lanarkshire (see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/ScotlandSouthLanarkshire.png) and Dumfries (see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/ScotlandDumfriesGalloway.png). There were also many Dargavels in Tasmania, Australia and Ontario, Canada who probably immigrated there.

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Also see http://www.bishopton.org.uk/history/old_history/history-dargavel.htm for more information about the place called Dargavel.

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My guess is, people who came from Dargavel, Scotland were called "John of Dargavel" or whatever, and, being shortened to "John Dargavel", it became their last name. Hope this helps somewhat...