Bockel: Last Name and Heraldic Notes

Bockel and Bock are two spellings with one history. Surname dictionaries give the meaning as “Billy goat (nickname)”.

Spelling and variants

With the diminutive -el, Bockel is an affectionate form of Bock that became a surname in its own right. Local scribes, dialects and emigration all left their mark on how the name was written. The same family of names includes Böckl, Bocks and Boeck.

In the records

French civil records give 122 births under the name Bockel from 1891 to 2000, peaking in 1951–1960.

Arms associated with the name

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Bockel, so the heraldry linked to Bock is a starting point, not an automatic right.

Want more than a summary? See the Bockel family name pack.