Speller Family History
Speller Name Meaning
English and South German: occupational name for a reciter speaker or story-teller from an agent derivative of Middle English spell(en) Middle High German spellen ‘to tell or relate’. In the case of the English surname there has probably been some confusion with Spiller . German: habitational name for someone from Spelle near Rheine (Lower Saxony). English: variant of Spiller 1 and English: occupational or nickname from Middle English speller(e) ‘one who can spell’ perhaps also ‘interpreter one who can explain the written word’ a derivative of Anglo-Norman French espeleir ‘to mean signify; to explain interpret’. Such a name would be suitable for a clerk or for someone who pretended to have clerical skills but it is unlikely to be the main source of the modern name.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022