Bell Family History
- Bell Name Meaning
- Scottish and northern English: from Middle English belle ‘bell’, in various applications; most probably a metonymic occupational name for a bell ringer or bell maker, or a topographic name for someone living ‘at the bell’ (as attested by 14th-century forms such as John atte Belle). This indicates either residence by an actual bell (e.g. a town’s bell in a bell tower, centrally placed to summon meetings, sound the alarm, etc.) or ‘at the sign of the bell’, i.e. a house or inn sign (although surnames derived from house and inn signs are rare in Scots and English). Scottish and northern English: from the medieval personal name Bel. As a man’s name this is from Old French beu, bel ‘handsome’, which was also used as a nickname. As a female name it represents a short form of Isobel, a form of Elizabeth. Scottish: Americanized form of Gaelic Mac Giolla Mhaoil ‘son of the servant of the devotee’ (see Mullen 1). Jewish (Ashkenazic): Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames. Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead in western Norway named Bell, the origin of which is unexplained. Scandinavian: of English or German origin; in German as a habitational name for someone from Bell in Rhineland, Germany, or possibly from Belle in Westphalia. Americanized spelling of German Böhl or Böll (see Boehle, Boll).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press
- 12,709,588 Historical Documents with Bell on Ancestry
- 3,700,725 Birth, Marriage, and Deaths
- 2,502,421 Census and Voter Lists
- 392,463 Military Records
- 304,835 Immigration Records
- 5,809,144 Member Trees
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Number of Bell families
 3,865 - 7,728  1,289 - 3,864 |
 1 - 1,288  |
from the 1891 England and Wales Census Data
Number of Bell families
|
854 - 1,705 285 - 853 |
1 - 284 |
from the 1851 Canada Census Data
Bell census records
You can see how Bell families moved over time by selecting different Census years.
Census records can tell you little-known facts about your ancestors such as birthplace, occupation and value of personal estate.
from the New York Passengers List
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The information for this chart came from the U.S. Immigration Collection at Ancestry. You can find out where the majority of the Bell families were living before they immigrated to the U.S and learn where to focus your search for foreign records.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure, port of arrival, and destination.
from the Canadian Passenger Lists
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You can find out when most of the Bell families immigrated to Canada. You can focus your search to immigration records dating from that era.
Immigration records can tell you an ancestor's name, ship name, port of departure, port of arrival and destination.
from 1881 CA Census Data
Bell census records
Census records can offer a lot of little known facts about your Bell ancestors, such as occupation.
Occupation can tell you about your ancestors' social status and economic status.
Did the Bells fight in a war? Military records can tell you a lot
about your ancestors including birthplace, occupation and even physical descriptions.
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