Meaning "apple" in Dutch and Low German, it can be a metonymic occupational surname for an apple grower or seller. It can also be a German name, based on a pet form of Apprecht. Notable people with the surname include:Alfred Appel (1934–2009), American scholarly expert on Vladimir Nabokov and author
Allen Appel, American novelist
Andrew Appel, American computer scientist and author
Text adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Dietmar Rabich (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.