Likely a modern spelling of Cordell, from a French surname linked to "cord" or "maker of cords."
Kordell is an American elaboration of Cordell, itself derived from the Old French *corde* meaning "rope," originally an occupational surname for a rope-maker or cord merchant. From a guild trade to a given name is a long journey, and Cordell traveled it through the American South and Midwest, where surname-as-first-name traditions have long flourished. The added flourish of the K spelling gives Kordell a distinctly modern American energy, distancing it from its workaday origins and giving it a sharper, more individual silhouette.
The name gained nationwide recognition through Kordell Stewart, the electrifying Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback whose versatility in the 1990s earned him the nickname "Slash" — he lined up at quarterback, wide receiver, and running back in a single era, defying the rigid positional thinking of the time. Stewart's career made Kordell feel athletic and dynamic, a name associated with improvisational brilliance under pressure. Kordell occupies an interesting cultural space: rooted in craft and labor through its French etymology, reimagined as something sleek and contemporary through its American evolution.
It is a name that has shed its origins and invented itself anew, which is perhaps the most American thing about it. Parents drawn to Kordell often want something that sounds distinctly their own — familiar enough to read confidently, unusual enough to stand out on any page.