The story
- Middle English · derived fromhacksalt“salt-chopper”
- English todayAxtell
Two possible origins: * An Anglicized form of the Old Norse personal name Ásketill, which is composed of the elements áss (“god”) + ketill (“kettle, cauldron”). * Occupational surname for a salt merchant, from Middle English hacksalt (“salt-chopper”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.