by Jim Young (guest)
4/30/2005, 2:05 PM
I'm sure that this is an English surname from an English place-name. However I'm unable to find the place on maps or in gazetteers. Perhaps it has disappeared. The language appears to be Old Danish or Old Norse; a beck, or stream, with a Skali, or temporary dwelling nearby.
I doubt that there is a Jewish connection, unless it was adopted by Jewish refugees or immigrants as an English language substitute for a similar sounding surname.