This Danish surname of AXELSON was originally derived from the Old Norman personal name ASKETILL, composed of the elements ASS (God) and KETILL (kettle, sacrificial cauldron). The practice of adopting surnames spread to Denmark and Norway from Germany, during the late Middle Ages, but until the 19th century, they were neither fixed nor universal. The Danish state has in recent years been encouraging the adoption of a wider range of surnames. The name has spread widely and early records of the name in England mention Richard de Asthull, who was documented during the reign of Edward III. (1327-1377). Robertus Astull of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Hugh Astel was recorded as the vicar of Aylmerton in County Norfolk in the year 1371. Thomas, son of John Astill was baptised at St. Mary, Aldermary, London in the year 1722. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God, however much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. Among the humbler classes of European society, and especially among illiterate people, individuals were willing to accept the mistakes of officials, clerks and priests as officially bestowing a new version of their surname, just as they had meekly accepted the surname they had been born with. In North America, the linguistic problems confronting immigration officials at Ellis Island in the 19th century were legendary as a prolific source of Anglicization. The name is also spelt Astle and Astel. The lion depicted in the arms is the noblest of all wild beasts which is made to be the emblem of strength and valour, and is on that account the most frequently borne in Coat-Armour.