Scheel
A nickname surname from a word meaning “cross-eyed,” “squinting,” or more generally “crooked” or “oblique.”
The #9,289 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 88,112 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Scheel comes from a Germanic word family meaning squinting, oblique, or crooked. The historical Dutch form scheel and related German forms were used as descriptive nicknames, especially for someone with a noticeable eye condition or a tilted look. The deeper roots go back to older Germanic forms, with the same sense of “askew” or “not straight.”
History
The surname appears in Dutch and German naming traditions and was later carried into other countries through migration. Nineteenth-century surname writers grouped it with other nicknames based on physical traits, especially eyes or facial posture. In the United States it is relatively uncommon, which fits a surname of continental European origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Dutch surname writers noted that related forms could also describe wood that had been drawn or bent out of true, not just a person.
From the historical record
“O.N. s1adlg-r=0.^. sceolh=Ger. and Dut. scheel, wry, oblique, crooked] SHEA, V. O'Shea. SHEAD (Eng.) Dweller at i a Hut, ArBour (Shed) [O.E. sceadu]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)