Keele
Usually a locational surname meaning “from Keele,” especially the parish in Staffordshire.
The #8,941 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 84,334 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally taken from a place-name, most often the parish of Keele in Staffordshire. Older surname dictionaries also note possible connection with Lincolnshire place-names such as Keal, but the Staffordshire derivation is the standard one for Keele. In that sense, the name originally meant someone who came from or lived near Keele.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers treated Keele as a place-based name, and they regularly linked it with the Staffordshire parish. The spelling has been fairly stable, though older records and indexing can blur it with Keal, Keel, and related forms. In modern use it remains uncommon, with most bearers concentrated in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some older reference works list Keele alongside Keal and Keel, showing how easily medieval place-names could shift in spelling over time.
From the historical record
“LoDdoo, 3, 1, 1 ; Phlladetphia, jo, □, KeeI.Keele; v. K««l. Ke«l»r, Ke«lar.~-Occup. <tb« keeler,' a bargeman, one who navigated a keel. Brockett haa”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances