English: nickname for a wise or thoughtful man, from
Anglo-Norman French counseil ‘consultation’, ‘deliberation’,
also ‘counsel’, ‘advice’ (Latin consilium, from
consulere ‘to consult’). This form was probably influenced by
the similar meaning of Anglo-Norman French councile ‘council’,
‘assembly’ (Latin concilium ‘assembly’, from the archaic verb
concalere ‘to call together’, ‘to summon’), and it may also
have been an occupational name for a member of a royal council or,
more probably, a manorial council.
Americanized spelling of
German Künzel (see Kuenzel).
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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