Dashiell is an American form of the French surname "de Chiel", whose meaning is unknown; it is pronounced DASH-ul or da-SHEEL. Crime writer Dashiell Hammett, author of The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, turned his mother's maiden name into a first name, and the dashing nickname Dash has kept it attractive. Dashiell peaked at number 1105 in 2015, just outside the US top 1000, and ranks number 2291 in 2025.