# Wells (surname)

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

An English topographic surname from Middle English for someone living near a well or a spring.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 176,230 |
| US rank (2010) | 147 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,752 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.3% (170,635 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /wɛlz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Wels |

## Etymology

From Old English wella, genitive plural of well (“spring”), in reference to a residence near a group of springs. The original use of the genitive case here would've indicated origin. The -s ending of the modern form would be added later on upon reanalysis after the breakdown of the case system (outside of pronouns) that occurred in the development of English.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Wells 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) | 74% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 20% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

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

## People named Wells

- Ida B. Wells, American journalist and civil rights activist (1862–1931)
- Kitty Wells, American country music singer (1919–2012)
- Claudia Wells, American actress
- Dawn Wells, American actress (1938–2020)
- Horace Wells, American dentist and anaesthesia pioneer (1815-1848)
- Mary Wells, American pop/soul singer (1943–1992)
- Nahki Wells, Bermudian footballer
- Martha Wells, American science fiction and fantasy author born in Fort Worth, Texas 1964
- Vernon Wells, Australian actor
- Kellie Wells, American female Olympic 100m hurdler
- Kerry Anne Wells, Australian model
- John Wells, American producer, writer and director (born 1956)

and 43 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Willis, Walls, Wills, Wallis, Welles, Welsh, Welsch, Welk, Wallace, Welch, Walsh, Wiles.

## 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.