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Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!
You asked for information on the surname <Pannell>, especially in connection with Yorkshire.
The surname may occasionally have been given to a <panneler>, i.e., a maker of panels, which were cloth pads placed under a saddle to prevent chafing of the horse's back. In most cases, however, the name probably comes from the given name <Payenel> or <Paynel>, a diminutive of <Payen> or <Payn>. In Yorkshire it can be found quite early in a recognizable form, e.g., in the name <William Painel> from 1160. A spelling slightly closer to <Pannell> comes from an 1172 Lincolnshire record of a man who is mentioned both as <Adam
Painell> and as <Adam Panell'>. [2] We don't know when the spelling
<Pannell> first appeared, but it was recorded in Yorkshire in the
parish of Howden in 1601. [1]
Note that in the early examples, the byname almost certainly means that the fathers of William and Adam were named <Payn> or <Paynel>. During the 13th - 15th centuries more and more people inherited their bynames, so that by 1500 such a byname almost certainly refers to a distant ancestor of its bearer.
You could certainly use various forms of <Pannell> as an SCA byname. <Paynel>, <Painel>, <Panell>, and <Panel> are consistent with any time from the later 12th century to the end of the SCA period. The evidence for the form <Pannell> is all late, so we think that this spelling is most suitable for a 16th century persona. In any case you'll need a given name, which should be suitable for the period that you choose.
There are several good lists of English men's names on the web; we've listed three of them in the references. Reference [3] gives a selection of 13th century given names from several parts of England; the names in reference [4] are taken from late-14th century Yorkshire data; and reference [5] gives a picture of English given names at the end of our period.
Alternatively, you could use any of <Payen>, <Payn>, <Pain>, <Payenel>, <Paynel>, and <Painel> as a given name; all seem to have been in use in the 12th and 13th centuries. You would then need to find an appropriate byname; reference [2], which is available in many libraries, is an excellent source.
We hope that this information is of use and will be happy to answer any further questions that you may have.
For the Academy,
Talan Gwynek
[1] Hitching, F.K. & S. Hitching. References to English Surnames in 1601 (Walton-on-Thames: Chas. A. Bernau, 1910).
[2] Reaney, P.H. & R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (London: Routledge, 1991).
[3] Talan Gwynek. 'Given Names from Early 13th Century England', 1997.
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/eng13/
[4] Talan Gwynek. 'Yorkshire Given Names from 1379', 1997.
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/yorkshire/
[5] Talan Gwynek. 'Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names', 1994.