from Middle High, Middle Low German kelle
‘trowel’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of
such tools.
habitational name from any of the places, especially
in Rhineland, named Kell, from Middle Low German kel (a field
name denoting swampy land), or from kelle ‘steep path’,
‘ravine’ (see Kelle).
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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