# Bell (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/bell/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname of Scottish and northern English origin for a bell ringer, bellmaker, or from someone who lived "at the Bell (inn)."

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 220,599 |
| US rank (2010) | 106 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,400 people |
| Change since 2000 | -16.7% (264,752 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /bɛl/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Who carries it

Share of people named Bell in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 61% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 32% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Bell in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Canada and Colombia.

## People named Bell

- Kristen Bell, American actress
- Jocelyn Bell Burnell, British astrophysicist (born 1943)
- Tobin Bell, American actor (born 1942)
- Lake Bell, American actress, director and screenwriter (born 1979)
- Daniel Bell, American sociologist (1919–2011)
- Catherine Bell, British actress (born 1968)
- Drake Bell, American actor (born 1986)
- Joshua Bell, American violinist (born 1967)
- Lexi Belle, American pornographic actress
- Jillian Bell, American actress and comedian
- Clive Bell, British art critic (1881–1964)
- Greg Bell, American long jumper (1930–2025)

and 107 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Ball, Beil, Beal, Bello, Bull, Beall, Beale, Buell, Bill, Belle, Bella, Belew.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.