The Romnichals or Romnichels are a series of groups of Roma (also known as Gypsies) originating in the United Kingdom. They (and their descendants) are also to be found throughout the United States.

In the United States there are several major locations of settlement, including the metro St. Louis area, near the Wisconsin Dells, Louisiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

They often marry between the ages of 16 and 20, some to clan members or to distant relatives, but inter-clan marriage also occurs. Common Romnichal family names are Wells, Stanley, Smith, Granite, Boswell, Cooper, Oaks and Jeffery. Some Romnichels do maintain a semi-nomadic life, preferring to live in trailers so that they can move around, but others have settled down more permanently. Regardless, they do tend to remain in groups of members sharing the same ethnic background.

References

• 'Gypsies' in the United States
• Salo, M., 'Romnichel economic and social organization in urban New England, 1850-1930,' in Salo, M. ed. Urban Gypsies, special issue of Urban Anthropology, 2.3/4 (1982), 273-313

Roma ethnic groups