Keel Family History
Keel Name Meaning
English (Wiltshire and Somerset): habitational name from East and West Keal (Lincolnshire) or Keele (Staffordshire). The Lincolnshire placename is derived from Old Norse kjǫlr ‘keel ridge’ while the Staffordshire placename probably derives from Old English cū ‘cow’ + hyll ‘hill’. English: in Wiltshire perhaps a variant of Keevil a habitational name from Keevil (Wiltshire) derived from an Old English personal name Cȳfa or Old English cȳf ‘vessel tub’ (used topographically for a depression or hollow) + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. Irish: shortened form of McKeel . Swiss German: probably a variant of Kehl Americanized form of German Kühl (see Kuhl ) or Kiehl Kiel .
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022