Family name origins & meanings
- German : from Middle High German klingen ‘to ring or sound’ + bīl ‘axe’, literally ‘sound the axe’, an occupational nickname for a journeyman, carpenter, shipwright (or any occupation involving the use of an axe). Journeymen’s names often contained a humorous element, as they were bestowed at merry promotion parties or ‘christenings’ held to celebrate the recipients successful completion of their apprenticeship.