Chappell
An occupational surname for someone connected with a chapel or, in some explanations, a singer/reciter linked to chapel services.
The #1,516 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,064 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally explained as a name for someone connected with a chapel, from Middle English chapel, itself from Old French chapel, ultimately from Latin capella, meaning “chapel” or “little cape” in its earlier history. Some 19th-century sources also connect it with an occupational term for a “chanter” or reciter, but the chapel-based explanation is the standard one. The spelling with -ell is a common historical variant of Chapel/Chapple.
History
The name is found in medieval English records in forms such as de la Chapele, showing its early use as a local or occupational byname. Later dictionaries note it as especially appropriate in places where a chapel was prominent, and the surname has persisted in several spelling forms, including Chapel, Chapple, and Chappell. It is established in both Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several historical surname dictionaries group Chappell with names like Church, Kirk, and Churchyard because all could begin as labels for people living near a religious building.
From the historical record
“CHAPPELL babel Channonhoase, of Ulverston, 1613: Lancashire Wills at Richmond, p. 62. Chanster. — Offic. or occup. Strictly the feminine of Chanter, a reciter (v. Chanter). Cf. Sanger and Sangster, q.v. Stephen le Chaiister. J.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)