Riel Family History
Riel Name Meaning
German: variant of Riehl . German and Dutch: habitational name from any of several places so named in Rhineland and North Brabant. French Canadian: altered form of Irish Reel or perhaps of its cognate Ryle or of some other similar (like-sounding) Irish surname. Alternatively the surname may possibly ultimately be of French origin (see 5 below). Compare Reil English (Middlesex): variant of Rial . This surname is now rare in Britain. Possibly also French (Normandy and northeastern France): topographic name for someone who lived by a stream from a regional derivative of Latin rivus ‘stream’ (compare Rieux ) or a habitational name from Riel-les-Eaux a place in Côte-d'Or or from some other place named (Le) Riel. See also 3 above. Filipino: unexplained.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022