Cassel
A surname usually tied to a place name, most likely from the city of Cassel/Kassel in Germany or related continental localities.
The #6,916 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 63,646 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cassel is best understood as a habitational surname, formed from the name of a place rather than from a personal characteristic or occupation. The historical sources link it especially with Cassel/Kassel in Germany, and also with other continental places spelled Cassel or Kessel, so the surname likely began as a label for someone who came from one of those towns. In older English and genealogical writing, spellings varied widely, so Cassel may represent more than one local origin in different family lines.
History
The name appears in historical surname discussions alongside other locational surnames from the Low Countries and Germany, which fits the movement of people across those regions into England and later America. Because several places could generate the same surname form, different Cassel families may not share a single origin. The modern U.S. distribution suggests the name survived as a relatively uncommon immigrant surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname books, Cassel is often grouped with names formed from continental place names, showing how a single spelling could hide several distinct family origins.
From the historical record
“to a daughter of king George II., wife of the Elector of Hesse. He attended her to Cassel, where Rochemont was bom. Al.iout the year 1G99, the Rev. Ezekiel and the Rev. Peter Barbauld were among the French Protestant ministers settled in Lon- don after the Revocation of the EcUct of Nantes.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom