Explore the Family Name Astle

The meaning of Astle

1. English: habitational name from a place in Cheshire called Astle, from Old English ēast ‘east’ + hyll ‘hill’. There may also have been some confusion with Asthall and Astley. Or occasionally this may be a topographic name denoting residence on an ‘east hill’ (from Middle English ast + hill or hull), i.e. a hill to the east of a settlement. 2. English: perhaps also a habitational name from Astwell, Northamptonshire, from Old English ēast ‘east’ + wielle ‘spring’. 3. English: habitational name from Asthall, Oxfordshire, from Old English ēast ‘east’ + halh ‘nook’. 4. English: variant of Astill, from the Middle English personal name Astill, a shortened form of Norman French Ansketill (Old Norse Ásketill); see Astin. 5. English: possibly also from the Middle English personal name Astwulf (Old English Ēastwulf, composed of the elements ēast ‘east’ + wulf ‘wolf’). 6. In some cases also an Americanized form of South German Astl or Astel: probably a nickname for a crude person, from Middle High German ast ‘branch, bough, knot’.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.