Meaning:
Its source is chiel, an Old French name meaning "Page."
Narrative:
James De Chiel of Lyon, France emigrated to Glasgow, Scotland around 1600. His descendants eventually spelled their surname Dashiell.
The ''de'' element suggests that De Chiel was an aristocrat, and offers the possibility that Chiel was a place name. However, at the time De Chiel reached Scotland, the word chiel (and the related term chield) could be used to refer to a nobleman's young servant, to a child, or to any male person, the same way ''guy'' is used in modern conversational English.
