Wells is an English
habitational surname but is possibly also from an old English word for Wales. It normally derives from occupation, location, and topography. The occupational name (i.e. "Wellman") derives from the person responsible for a village's spring. The locational name (i.e. "Well") derives from the pre-7th century "wælla" ("spring"). The topographical name (i.e. "Attewell") derives from living near a spring. The oldest public record is found in 1177 in the county of Norfolk. Variations of Wells include Well, Welman,
Welles,
Wellman and Wellsman.[1] At the time of the
British Census of 1881,[2] its relative frequency was highest in
Berkshire (3.2 times the British average), followed by
Leicestershire,
Oxfordshire,
Kinross-shire,
Huntingdonshire,
Kent,
Sussex,
Lincolnshire,
Dumfriesshire and
Bedfordshire.
It is said that the origin is sometimes derived from the city of
Wells, but could also be from an old English word for
Wales or a
habitational surname from any of several places named with the plural of Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’, or a topopgraphical name from this word (in its plural form), for example Wells in
Somerset or Wells-next-the-Sea in
Norfolk. Translation of French Dupuis or any of its variants. Later an
abbey church was built in Wells in
705 by
Aldhelm, first bishop of the newly established
Diocese of Sherborne during the reign of
King Ine of Wessex. It was dedicated to
St Andrew and stood at the site of the cathedral's cloisters, where some excavated remains can be seen. Wells gets its name from these springs which can today be found in the gardens of the Bishop's Palace. Wells is the smallest city in
England with about 12,000 inhabitants. This was dated 1177, in the
pipe rolls of the county of Norfolk, during the reign of
Henry II of England,
1154–
1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original.[3] This probably denoted somebody responsible for looking after the
village spring, although not necessarily in any other way associated with the various places called Well or Wells. Early examples of church register recordings include Robert Wells, who was
christened on January 7, 1557, at
Christchurch Greyfriars, in the city of London, whilst Richard Wellman was recorded at
St Georges Chapel, Hanover Square, Westminster, on March 1, 1730.
Variants
The old
Anglo-Saxon word waella meant spring (rather than a well) and probably a spring associated with a holy place. In
Kent and
East Anglia this word seems to have been pronounced “wella,” from which has come the surname Wells and, in
Sussex, Atwell (at the well).
This page lists people with the
surnameWells. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Wells is an English
habitational surname but is possibly also from an old English word for Wales. It normally derives from occupation, location, and topography. The occupational name (i.e. "Wellman") derives from the person responsible for a village's spring. The locational name (i.e. "Well") derives from the pre-7th century "wælla" ("spring"). The topographical name (i.e. "Attewell") derives from living near a spring. The oldest public record is found in 1177 in the county of Norfolk. Variations of Wells include Well, Welman,
Welles,
Wellman and Wellsman.[1] At the time of the
British Census of 1881,[2] its relative frequency was highest in
Berkshire (3.2 times the British average), followed by
Leicestershire,
Oxfordshire,
Kinross-shire,
Huntingdonshire,
Kent,
Sussex,
Lincolnshire,
Dumfriesshire and
Bedfordshire.
It is said that the origin is sometimes derived from the city of
Wells, but could also be from an old English word for
Wales or a
habitational surname from any of several places named with the plural of Old English well(a) ‘spring’, ‘stream’, or a topopgraphical name from this word (in its plural form), for example Wells in
Somerset or Wells-next-the-Sea in
Norfolk. Translation of French Dupuis or any of its variants. Later an
abbey church was built in Wells in
705 by
Aldhelm, first bishop of the newly established
Diocese of Sherborne during the reign of
King Ine of Wessex. It was dedicated to
St Andrew and stood at the site of the cathedral's cloisters, where some excavated remains can be seen. Wells gets its name from these springs which can today be found in the gardens of the Bishop's Palace. Wells is the smallest city in
England with about 12,000 inhabitants. This was dated 1177, in the
pipe rolls of the county of Norfolk, during the reign of
Henry II of England,
1154–
1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original.[3] This probably denoted somebody responsible for looking after the
village spring, although not necessarily in any other way associated with the various places called Well or Wells. Early examples of church register recordings include Robert Wells, who was
christened on January 7, 1557, at
Christchurch Greyfriars, in the city of London, whilst Richard Wellman was recorded at
St Georges Chapel, Hanover Square, Westminster, on March 1, 1730.
Variants
The old
Anglo-Saxon word waella meant spring (rather than a well) and probably a spring associated with a holy place. In
Kent and
East Anglia this word seems to have been pronounced “wella,” from which has come the surname Wells and, in
Sussex, Atwell (at the well).
This page lists people with the
surnameWells. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.