Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • English : from the Middle English personal name þorkell, a reduced form of Old Norse þórketill, composed of the elements þórr (name of the Scandinavian god of thunder; see Thor) + ketill ‘cauldron’. The personal name Thurkill or Thirkill was in widespread use in England in the Middle Ages; in northern England it was introduced directly by settlers from Scandinavia, whereas in the South it was the result of Norman influence.
  • Jewish (Ashkenazic) : unexplained; possibly an ornamental name from Yiddish turkltoyb ‘turtle dove’.