Keel
Usually a locational surname from places called Keele or Keal, with a secondary occupational sense tied to a keel-barge sailor.
The #4,090 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,562 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually explained as a place-name surname. The main sources point to Keele in Staffordshire and also to Keal in Lincolnshire, with variants like Keale and Keele reflecting the same local origin. Some older references also connect Keel with an occupational word for a bargeman who worked a keel, but that explanation is more often given for Keeler than for Keel itself.
History
In English records the name appears in forms such as de Kele and later Keel or Keele, showing the usual medieval shift from a place-name description to a hereditary surname. Because both Keele and Keal are real English place-names, the surname likely arose independently in more than one locality. The occupational sense may have influenced some bearers, especially in eastern coastal districts where keel-boating was common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley notes that the surname was found on the east coast, which fits the old keel-barge occupation especially well.
From the historical record
“KEEBLE. See Kibble. KEEL. Keele, a parish in co. Stafford. KEELEY. Probably Keighley, co. York. KEELTY. KIELTY. From the an- cient personal name Caoilte, borne by one of the heroes of Ossiau. Ulster. Journ. of Archajol. No. 2. KEEN. KEENE. Perhaps some-”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom