Reel
A surname that may come from several different roots, including an Irish name and an English nickname or local form.
The #6,399 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 58,079 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is not securely settled from the excerpts alone. In English contexts, Reel could be a variant spelling of words or surnames built on similar sounds, and older surname collections sometimes treat it alongside names like Rail, Real, or Ryle. In Irish sources, it also appears as a variant attached to several Gaelic surnames, especially forms related to O’Reilly and related names, though the exact linkage can vary by family.
History
The name turns up in English and Irish records, and both traditions seem to have contributed to its modern bearers. The Irish evidence in the older surname indexes suggests Reel was used as an Anglicized or simplified spelling for more than one Gaelic family line. In North America it appears early enough to be noted in 19th-century name lists, but those references do not by themselves prove a single origin for all families called Reel.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older Irish surname indexes group Reel with a surprisingly wide cluster of spellings, showing how fluid surname spelling could be in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
From the historical record
“JiiS« Golvfhtln, co-^ork. W.o. ^ Reel of William Goligbtly, lor.' 1611: Hbo^ Giillghtly, 1654: HiM. of Aln- i6i& ^p«, — Jamea a Jama Gal. Unlly. Si. ftler, Cornhlll, i. 91-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances