Driskill
A surname of uncertain origin, most likely a variant spelling that developed from an older surname form in the British Isles.
The #9,902 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 94,591 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Driskill is not well explained by the excerpted source, which only lists it as a comparable name rather than giving an etymology. In practice, it is usually treated as an English-language surname, probably arising as a spelling variant of an older name that was altered in transmission or migration. Because the historical forms are not firmly established here, its literal original meaning remains uncertain.
History
The name is found in modern American records and likely reflects earlier British or Irish surname forms that were reshaped in spelling after migration. The provided source shows only that it was known to the compiler alongside other surnames, but not the derivation itself. As with many less common surnames, local clerks and family usage may have helped produce several spellings over time.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Its ending has led some people to associate it with Driscoll, but the evidence in the supplied source is too thin to confirm that link.
From the historical record
“Doody, 490. 498. Driskill, 613. D wain, 517. Dooey, 503, 521.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland