Peele
A surname usually from a fortified place or tower—literally someone who lived by a peel or pele.
The #7,600 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 70,603 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is generally traced to Middle English and Anglo-French words for a fortified tower, peel, or small castle. Those forms ultimately go back to Latin words such as palus, meaning a stake, and in some explanations to related words for a pillar or post. The name was likely first used for someone who lived near, or was identified with, such a defensive structure.
History
Historical references show the surname in forms such as le Pele and of the Peele, which fits a place-based origin. In northern England and Scotland, peel/pele was a familiar word for a small fortified residence, so the surname could arise independently in different localities. Later spelling variation produced forms like Peel and Peile alongside Peele.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In border country, a "peel tower" was a real type of small fortified house, especially associated with the Anglo-Scottish frontier.
From the historical record
“PEEL I (A.-Fr.-Lat.) i Dweller at a Forti- PEELE J fied Residence or Small Castle [Mig. pel, peill, pe(e)le; O.Fr. pel, Lat. pal-US, a stake. But O.E. pil, Lat. pila, a pillar, seems iiot to have been without in- ' fluence] And at Lythkow wes than [then] apeill, Mekill and stark, and stuffit weill”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)