How common is the surname Belle?

4,246 people in the United States had the surname Belle in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 72,714 Americans. It ranked 7,796th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Belle?

Camilla Belle, American actress, followed by Regina Belle.

Where is the surname Belle most common?

Wikidata records people named Belle in the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Is the surname Belle getting more or less common?

More common. 3,742 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,246 in 2010, up 14%.

Is Belle also a first name?

Yes. Belle is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Belle

A French surname, carried by 4,246 people in the United States.

Pronounced /bɛl/ 1 syllable Soundex B400 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Belle is more common than 95.2% of them.

Origin

French origin

From French belle (“beauty, beautiful”), from Latin bella.

One of 791 French surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 4,246 people named Belle in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 72,714 Americans. That is up 14% since 2000, when the Census counted 3,742.

#7,796

rank among US surnames

4,246

people in 2010

1.4

per 100,000 Americans

+13.5%

change since 2000 (was #8,155)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#7,787	Nero	4,259	72,492
#7,788	Hertz	4,257	72,527
#7,789	Clift	4,256	72,544
#7,791	Jeon	4,253	72,595
#7,793	Kellerman	4,252	72,612
#7,794	Sabol	4,250	72,646
#7,795	Wert	4,248	72,680

Who is named Belle

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

60% of people named Belle identified as Black (not Hispanic), 32% as white (not Hispanic) and 3.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Black (not Hispanic) 60%
White (not Hispanic) 32%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.4%
Two or more races 3.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Belles

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Camilla Belle
American actress, born 1986
Regina Belle
American singer, born 1963
Dido Elizabeth Belle
British aristocrat, 1761–1804
Kathryn Sophia Belle
American philosopher, born 1978
Albert Belle
American baseball player, born 1966

Notable Belles come mostly from the United States (4) and the Kingdom of Great Britain (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Belle

Belle has the Soundex code B400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B400.

Other French surnames

All 791 French surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Belle come from?: From French belle (“beauty, beautiful”), from Latin bella.
How common is the surname Belle?: 4,246 people in the United States had the surname Belle in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 72,714 Americans. It ranked 7,796th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Belle?: In the 2010 Census, 60% of people named Belle identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 32% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Belle?: Camilla Belle, American actress, followed by Regina Belle.
Where is the surname Belle most common?: Wikidata records people named Belle in the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain.
How do you pronounce Belle?: Belle is /bɛl/, one syllable.
Is the surname Belle getting more or less common?: More common. 3,742 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,246 in 2010, up 14%.
Is Belle also a first name?: Yes. Belle is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.