Askell Family History
Askell Name Meaning
from the Middle English personal name Askell Old Scandinavian Áskell a shortened form of Ásketill (see Ashkettle and Axtell ). The personal name was also popular among the Normans as Asketill and Anskell (with Continental Germanic Ans- substituted for As-) which explains why the names occur in post-Conquest England in counties not settled by Vikings. Its appearance as a surname is often disguised by altered pronunciations. Metathesis of /sk/ to /ks/ spelled -x- has given rise to Axcell and Axtell while the addition of a prosthetic H- has produced Haskell and Haxell . The Normans frequently used the name in Frankish forms; see Anketell Askin Haskin Antin Hastie Astin and Astill . For the name in the Isle of Man see Castell . reduced form of McAskill which is based on the same Scandinavian personal name as in (1).
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, 2016