Spelling was not standardized in the English language until recently. In colonial times, spelling was phonetic and varied widely. Particularly when the owner of a name could neither read nor write, the spelling would be recorded by a clerk, and the owner would be not at all particular how the clerk spelled the name. Thus we frequently find several spelling variations on the same document. The Broomhall name, in the last 150 years, has evolved into three main variations- Broomhall, Broomall, and Broomell. Yet within every branch of kinship, all three variations are found. It is not unusual for a father and son, or two brothers, to spell their names differently. Even after 1850 when a branch of the family decided on a standard spelling, census enumerators, news reporters and others would often vary the spelling. At least one person has legally changed the spelling of the name. Therefore all Broom(h)all researchers will be advised to check every spelling possibility.

The following variations of the surname have been found in Pennsylvania between 1682 and 1850: Bromal, Bromale, Bromall, Broomal, Broomale, Broomall, Broomel, Broomell, Broomer, Broomhall, Broomil, Broomuel, Broonell, Brooner, Brumel, Brummal, Brummel