Angell
Trademark
UnclaimedAngell is a historic Norwegian family name associated with merchants, shipping, fisheries, landownership, philanthropy, and the Thomas Angell Foundations.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Angell is a historic family name rather than a conventional commercial brand. The Norwegian Angell family established itself in Trondheim during the 1650s after arriving from the Angeln region of present-day Germany. Its early members became merchants and subsequently expanded into shipping, fisheries, whaling, property ownership, and industrial investment. The family’s rise was closely connected with the economic and political development of central and northern Norway. The family’s Norwegian origins are associated with Lorentz Mortensen Angell and his siblings, who came to Trondheim by ship with their father in the 1650s. Lorentz and his brother Morten became merchants in Trondheim. Through commercial relationships with Joachim Irgens von Westerwick and his estate, Lorentz Angell acquired extensive property interests. When Irgens died owing him a substantial sum, Angell received large parts of the Irgens estate, including 487 farms in Helgeland. These holdings became known as the Angell Estate. He later acquired the Smøla Estate and accumulated additional farms in Trøndelag. Angell also became connected with the Røros Copperworks. Cornelia Irgens von Westerwick transferred 53 of the copperworks’ 180 ownership shares to him as part of arrangements to settle debts. The holding was not necessarily the result of a prior plan to enter copper production, but it demonstrates the way merchant capital, credit relationships, landownership, and industrial assets were linked in seventeenth-century Norway. Parts of the family entered the proprietarian aristocracy in central and northern Norway, while the branch that remained in Trondheim retained an important civic and economic presence. The family’s most enduring public legacy is the network of charitable institutions associated with Thomas Angell. The Thomas Angell Foundations became one of the largest landowners in Trøndelag and support charitable and social activities, including Thomas Angell House in Trondheim. This institutional legacy continues to make the Angell name visible in the city. The Angell name also has separate historical associations in England and the United States. The referenced family history traces those branches to DeAngeli, an Italian name connected with Trento in Lombardy. According to that tradition, Roger DeAngeli came to England in 1485 as a mercenary supporting Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. His son Robert adopted the Anglicised form Angell during the reign of Henry VIII, reportedly to distance the family from its Roman Catholic association. The English family later held local and national offices and was associated with Peakirk in Northamptonshire, Chippenham in Wiltshire, and Cambridgeshire. John Angell of Chippenham, who died in 1702, left land for St. John’s Church, St. John’s School, and housing in Brixton. The church and school remain associated with the area, while the residential district later became known as Angell Town. These English connections should be distinguished from the Norwegian merchant and landowning family, even though the names are historically related in the family tradition rather than representing a modern unified business organization. The Norwegian name is linked to Angel, the Danish name for Angeln. In Norway it was also interpreted through the word for an angel or fishhook, an association reflected in the family arms, which feature fishhooks and pairs of five-pointed stars. The family motto is reported as “I stand in the track of my ancestors.” Because Angell (family) is a genealogy and historical-family subject, it has no verified standalone product portfolio, corporate headquarters, public listing, ticker, or conventional brand-management structure.
History
The Angell family’s Norwegian history begins in the seventeenth century. The family originated in or near Nordgård Estate in Steinberg, in the Angeln region of present-day Germany. Morten Pedersen and Anne Pedersdatter of Nordgård had several children, including Morten Mortensen and Lorentz Mortensen. Lorentz established himself as a merchant in Flensburg before traveling with members of his family and their father to Trondheim by ship in the 1650s. In Trondheim, Lorentz Mortensen adopted the Angell name and continued as a merchant. His brother Morten also pursued commerce there. Their activities extended beyond trade into shipping, fisheries, and whaling. Lorentz developed financial and commercial relationships with Joachim Irgens von Westerwick, a major owner connected with the Røros Copperworks. These relationships later enabled Angell to acquire substantial assets when Irgens’s debts could not be repaid in cash. The largest transfer involved the Irgens estate. Lorentz Angell received 487 farms in Helgeland, comprising a substantial holding measured in the period’s våg unit. This property became known as the Angell Estate. He subsequently bought the Smøla Estate and gathered additional farms in Trøndelag. The family therefore moved from a merchant background into large-scale landownership and the social position associated with the proprietarian elite of central and northern Norway. Angell’s connection to the Røros Copperworks arose through debt settlement. Cornelia Irgens von Westerwick transferred 53 of the enterprise’s 180 ownership parts to him. The available account indicates that he had not specifically sought to become a copperworks owner, but accepted the shares as a way for the widow to settle her obligations. This episode illustrates the importance of credit, inheritance, and estate transfers in the formation of early modern Norwegian fortunes. The Trondheim branch remained prominent in the city. Its most important long-term institutional legacy is the Thomas Angell Foundations, established from the wealth associated with Thomas Angell. The foundations became major landowners in Trøndelag and supported charitable work. Thomas Angell House is among the institutions linked with this legacy. Through these foundations, the family name continued to have a civic presence after the original merchant and estate-building period. The family history also records English and American branches using the Angell name. Those branches are traced to the Italian DeAngeli name from Trento in Lombardy. The tradition holds that Roger DeAngeli went to England in 1485 to fight for Henry Tudor at Bosworth, and that his son Robert later adopted the Anglicised surname Angell. The family became established in English local and national affairs over the following two centuries. Peakirk in Northamptonshire is identified as a family seat, while later connections included Chippenham, Wiltshire, and Cambridgeshire. John Angell of Chippenham died in 1702 and left property for St. John’s Church, St. John’s School, and housing in Brixton. These foundations of local infrastructure remained associated with the Angell name. The later residential area known as Angell Town became a recognized London locality. The English history is related to the broader surname tradition but should not be treated as evidence of a single modern corporate organization spanning Norway, Britain, and the United States. The family’s heraldic identity reflects the Norwegian interpretation of the name. The arms are described as showing two fishhooks with vertically arranged pairs of five-pointed stars between and outside them. The family motto is “I stand in the track of my ancestors.” The surname and arms thus combine geographic origin, linguistic interpretation, and dynastic memory. In contemporary terms, Angell is best understood as a historical family and philanthropic legacy, not as an operating brand with products, executives, or financial disclosures.
- 1702
John Angell’s local bequest
[1]John Angell of Chippenham died and left land for St. John’s Church, St. John’s School, and housing in Brixton.
- 1650
Arrival in Trondheim
[1]Lorentz Mortensen Angell, his siblings, and their father came by ship to Trondheim from the Schleswig-Holstein region associated with Angeln. The family subsequently established a merchant presence in Norway.
Expansion into commerce and maritime activity
[1]Lorentz and Morten Mortensen Angell operated as merchants in Trondheim, while the family’s economic activity also extended to shipping, fisheries, and whaling.
Formation of the Angell Estate
[1]After Joachim Irgens von Westerwick’s death, debt settlement transferred 487 farms in Helgeland to Lorentz Angell. The holdings became known as the Angell Estate.
Investment in the Røros Copperworks
[1]Lorentz Angell received 53 of the Røros Copperworks’ 180 ownership parts from Cornelia Irgens von Westerwick as part of a debt arrangement.
Products and positioning
A historic family identity associated primarily with Norwegian mercantile wealth, landed estates, civic influence, and philanthropy. It is not documented as a current consumer or corporate brand.
Recent events
Reported
Angell partners with SEB on e-bike manufacturing and investment[4]
Angell signed a partnership with SEB, which will manufacture Angell electric bikes at a factory in France; SEB Alliance is also investing in Angell.
Reported
Angell announces the Angell/S e-bike model[4]
Angell announced a second electric-bike model, the Angell/S, described as a smaller, lighter version with a step-through frame.
Sources4 sources
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