Reposted from the Genforum Scotland forum
From "The Surnames of Scotland" by Dr. G.F. Black
Fell is an old surname in Dundee. May be a shortened form of Fellmonger = dealer in hides or skins with the hair or wool on.
The Fells afford an instance of an occupation being hereditary in a family, the earliest recorded of the name being Finlay Fell, butcher, burgess of Dundee 1533. The trade descended from father to son for more than a century.
Robert Fell was a witness 1530,
Andrew Fell burgess of Dundee 1611,
Isobel Fell of Whinkerstaines 1653,
Ann Fell of Blair Athole 1781,
James Fell was a mylner (=miller) at Sandhead Mylne 1628.
It is also a common placename in many parts of northern England where there were Norse settlements.