From: Jon Chandler
This English name is an occupational name for a maker and seller of
candles, from the middle English “cha(u)ndeler, found also in the old
French chandelier, and Latin candelarius, a derivative of “candere”, to be
bright. While a medieval chandler no doubt made and sold other articles
besides candles, the extended sense of the modern English “Chandler” does
not occur until the 16th century.
The name, apparently, may also, more rarely, have denoted someone who was
responsible for lighting arrangements in a large house, or else one who
owed rent in the form of wax and candles.
The only English variation of the name is Chantler, but there are related
names across Europe - Chandelier and Candeliez in France, Candelari and
Candelieri in Italy, Candela in Spain and Catalonia, Candeias in Portuguese
and Schandel in German.
The earliest forms of the name appear in records in the 1200s in England,
such as William le Chandeler in Essex,
So there you have it!