Origin
Bel : 1: French: nickname for a handsome man (perhaps also ironically for an ugly one) from Old French beu bel ‘beautiful handsome’ (from Late Latin bellus). Compare Lebel and Beau.2: Hungarian (Bél): from the old personal name Bél or perhaps from bél ‘inside internal part’. The latter may have been an occupational name for an indoor servant i.e. one who worked inside a great house.3: Dutch: possibly an altered form of Scottish Bell.
Bagent : English:: 1: possibly a colloquial pronunciation of Beauchamp or Beecham. Old French Beau- often appears as Be(e)- in English surnames. The -ch- has been voiced and excrescent -t has been added.2: perhaps an Anglicized form of a French or Flemish surname such as Beaujean and Bejean from Old French bel Jehan ‘handsome John’ + excrescent -t. It could have been introduced to England in the 15th or 16th century by Flemish migrants.
Baigent : possibly a colloquial pronunciation of Beauchamp or Beecham. Old French Beau- often appears as Be(e)- Bea- and Bay- in English surnames. The -ch- has been voiced and an excrescent -t has been added. Compare John Beauchamp 1700 Mary Baigeant 1784 in IGI (Chobham Surrey); Aaron Baigent 1703 Sarah Beecham 1738 in IGI (Guildford Surrey); Samuel Beecham 1725 John Baijent 1772 in IGI (Gillingham Kent).perhaps the French name Beaujean Flemish Beaujan(t) Bejean from Old French bel Jehan ‘handsome John’ + excrescent -t. It could have been introduced to England in the 15th or 16th century by Flemish migrants.
Bearpark : from Bearpark (Durham). The place-name is from Old French bel ‘beautiful’ + repaire ‘retreat’ (recorded as Beaurepayre in 1267).
Beau : French: nickname for a handsome man (perhaps also ironically for an ugly one) from Old French beu bel ‘beautiful handsome’ (from Late Latin bellus). This surname is also found in Germany. Compare Bel and Lebeau.
Beauchamp : 1: English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of several places in France for example in Manche and Somme that are named with Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ + champ(s) ‘field plain’ (from Latin bello campo ‘beautiful field’). In English the surname is generally pronounced Beecham. Compare Bushaw.2: English: in some cases an Anglo-Norman French adaptation of Scottish Campbell by translation into French of the folk etymology de campo bello ‘from the fair field’.
Beaufort : French and English (of Norman and French Huguenot origin): habitational name from (Le) Beaufort the name of several places in various parts of France notably in Nord Somme and Pas-de-Calais from Old French bel ‘beautiful’ + fort ‘fort fortified castle’. The surname Beaufort is rare in Britain. Compare Beauford Buford and Blueford.
Beaulieu : 1: French: habitational name from any of numerous places in France named with Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ + lieu ‘place’. Compare Bolia Bolio and Boulier 1.2: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from any of the places in France mentioned in 1 above or from Beaulieu in Hampshire seat of the Montagu family.
Beaumont : English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of the five places in Normandy or several others elsewhere in France so named. The placename comes from Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ + mont ‘hill’. There are also places in England so named under Norman influence in Cumberland Lancashire and Essex the last of which changed its name in the 12th century from Fulepet ‘foul pit’ to Bealmont ‘beautiful hill’; these may also have given rise to the surname. The surname is now widespread throughout England but most common in Yorkshire. Compare Belmont.
Beaver : 1: English: habitational name from Belvoir in Leicestershire pronounced beever (/bi:və/) so named with Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ + veïr voir ‘to see’ i.e. a place with a fine view. This name may also be derived from any of several places in France called Beauvoir for example in Manche Somme and Seine-Maritime all of which have the same etymology as above.2: English: nickname from Middle English bever bevre (Old English beofor) ‘beaver’ possibly referring to a hard worker or from some other fancied resemblance to the animal. The existence of patronymic forms such as Beaverson suggest that this may also have been a personal name.3: Native American (Creek): from a translation into English of the Muscogee Creek clan name Echaswvlke (‘Beaver clan’) derived from a word meaning ‘beaver’.4: Native American: translation into English (and shortening) of any other personal name based on a word such as Cheyenne homa'e meaning ‘beaver’. The importance of the beaver to Native Americans is reflected in their traditional personal names some of which were adopted as surnames (translated into English) e.g. Beaver Heart (in Cheyenne Homa'ehesta; see also Hart 9).5: Americanized form (translation into English) of cognates of 2 above in other languages in particular Dutch Bever and German Bieber.
Beavis : English (of Norman origin):: 1: habitational name from Beauvais (Oise) which takes its name from a Gaulish people known to the Romans as the Bellovaci.2: nickname from Old French bel beau ‘fine’ + fils ‘son’. Bel was often used as a term of affection hence the meaning in many cases is ‘dear son’.
Bela : 1: Hungarian (Béla): from the common Hungarian personal name Béla which is of uncertain etymology. It may be from the Slavic personal name element bel ‘white’ (see for example Belan) or possibly from Turkish bel ‘waist loins’ also ‘middle of the back’ or belek ‘gift’. The surname Bela is also found in Romania Slovenia and Croatia.2: Czech (Běla): from the female personal name Běla meaning ‘white’. As a surname it denoted the son or husband of a woman so named.3: Sorbian (Běla B'ela or Běła B'eła): from a pet form of the Biblical personal name Abel or a nickname derived from běły ‘white bright fair’. Compare Biele Biehle.
Belak : Slovak (Belák rarely Beľák) Czech (Bělák Belák) Slovenian and Croatian: nickname for a fair-haired or pale-skinned man derived from (a dialect form of) Slovak biely Czech bílý Slovenian bel Croatian bijel ‘white light fair’. It is (or was) also used of animals e.g. in Slovak for a white horse. The Sorbian cognate Bělak is apparently found in Germanized and Americanized forms only (see Bellach Bellack and Bellock).
Belay : 1: Ethiopian: from the personal name Belay meaning ‘on top’ in the Amharic language. — Note: Since Ethiopians do not have hereditary surnames this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.2: Americanized form of Slovenian and Croatian Belaj: nickname for a fair-haired or pale-skinned man derived from Slovenian bel Croatian bijel ‘white light fair’.3: Slovak: variant of Belaj a cognate of 2 above derived from a dialect form of the adjective biely ‘white light fair’.
Belcher : English (of Norman origin):: 1: from Old French bel ch(i)ere or beu ch(i)ere (Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ + ch(i)ere ‘face countenance’) which had various senses including ‘fair face or looks fine manners good company good cheer food and drink hospitality’. Although ch(i)ere originally meant ‘face’ the word later came to mean also ‘demeanor disposition’ (hence English cheer) and the nickname may thus also have denoted a person of pleasant cheerful disposition.2: from Old French bel beu + sire ‘fair sir’ a term of address. From at least the 15th century this name was probably confused with the name above owing to the pronunciation of Middle English beu sire and bel sire as ‘bewcher’ and ‘belsher’.
Belec : Slovenian and Croatian: nickname for a fair-skinned or fair-haired man derived from Slovenian and dialectal Croatian bel ‘white light fair’. Compare Belitz 3 and Beltz 2.
Belfort : French: habitational name from any of various places so named from Old French bel ‘beautiful’ + fort ‘fort fortified castle’. This surname is most common in Brazil and Haiti.
Belgrave : English: habitational name from a place in Leicestershire recorded in Domesday Book as Merdegrave. The original name derived from Old English mearth ‘marten’ + grāf ‘grove’ but after the Norman Conquest the first element was taken to be Old French merde ‘dung filth’ and changed to Old French beu bel ‘fair lovely’ to remove the unpleasant association. A mid 12th-century writer refers to the place as ‘Merthegrave nunc (now) Belegrava’.
Belham : from Old French bel ‘beautiful handsome’ + homme ‘man’.
Belhumeur : French Canadian: from French bel humeur ‘good mood or humor’ used as a soldier's name and perhaps also as a nickname for a well-tempered man. This surname is not found in France. Compare Bellemore Bellmer and Goodnature.
Belic : Serbian and Croatian (Belić); Slovenian (Belič): nickname for a fair-skinned or fair-haired man derived from Serbian beo Croatian bijel Slovenian bel ‘white light fair’ or a patronymic from the nickname Beli with the same meaning; or a patronymic (metronymic) from a short form of an old compound personal name based on Old Slavic bělъ with the same meaning e.g. Belimir. Compare Belich and Bellich see also Bilic.
Belin : 1: Czech (Bělín): either a nickname from a dialect derivative of Czech bílý ‘white’ or a derivative of the female personal name Běla (see Bela).2: Croatian: cognate of Belan and Belina. Compare Bellin.3: French (also Bélin): nickname from a diminutive of bélier ‘ram’ borne by a ram in the medieval literary cycle Reynard the Fox (in French: Roman de Renart).4: French (also Bélin): from a pet form of personal names such as Robelin from Robert or Hubelin from Hubert or perhaps a pet form of a personal name based on Old French bel ‘beautiful’. Compare Bellin.5: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Beylin (compare Balin 1).6: Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from Belin(y) in Belarus or Ukraine; compare Belinsky.
Belina : Croatian Slovenian Polish and Slovak; Czech (Bělina): nickname denoting a fair-haired or pale-skinned man derived from (a dialect form of) Croatian bijel Slovenian bel Polish biały Slovak biely and Czech bílý ‘white light fair’. It may also be derived from the old personal names such as Belimir (see Belic). Compare Bellina.
Belko : 1: Belorussian: nickname for a fair-haired or pale-skinned man derived from bely ‘white light fair’ + the noun suffix -ko.2: Slovak Croatian and Slovenian: nickname with the same meaning as above from derivatives and dialect forms of Slovak biely and Croatian bijel or from Slovenian bel. It may also be from a pet form of the Old Slavic personal names such as Belimir (see Belic). This surname is also found in Hungary where it is spelled Belkó.
Bell : 1: English (northern) and Scottish (Lowlands): from the Middle English personal name Bell. 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 Isabel.2: English (northern) and Scottish (Lowlands): from Middle English belle ‘bell’ (Old English belle) 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).3: English: from Middle English bel ‘fair fine good’ (Old French bel ‘beautiful fair’). See also Beal 1.4: German: from Bell in Rhineland or possibly from Belle in Westphalia.5: Norwegian: habitational name from a farmstead in western Norway named Bell the origin of which is unexplained.6: Scandinavian: of English or German origin (see above).7: Americanized form of German Böhl or Böll (see Boehle Boll).8: American shortened and altered form of various Slavic names beginning with Bel- ‘white’ e.g. of Rusyn (from Slovakia) Belejčák a derivative of Belej (see Beley 3).9: Americanized form of one or more similar (like-sounding) Jewish surnames.
Bellas : 1: English: topographic name for someone who lived by a belltower from Middle English bel-hous ‘detached bell-house or belfry’ (Old English bell-hūs). The surname is now found chiefly in Yorkshire and Westmorland.2: Greek: Hellenized form of the Italian surname Bella or alternatively a nickname derived from South Slavic bel ‘white’.3: Galician: probably from the adjective belo bela ‘beautiful lovely’ possibly with topographic reference.
Belle : 1: Italian (Bellé): from a shortened derivative of Bello for example Belletto.2: French: from the feminine form of the nickname Bel from Old French belle ‘beautiful’ or a habitational name from (La) Belle the name of several places in various parts of France.3: German: habitational name from a place so named in the Lippe district.4: Dutch: variant of Van Belle.5: English: variant of Bell.6: Germanized Italianized or Americanized form of Slovenian Bele: nickname for a fair-haired or pale-skinned man from bel ‘white light fair’ or a patronymic from Beli a nickname derived from this adjective; or from a short form of the old personal name Belcijan from Latin Felicianus (see Feliciano).
Belleau : French:: 1: habitational name from Belleau principally the name of a place in Meurthe-et-Moselle which is recorded as early as 1047 as Bella Aqua (‘lovely water’) in Latin. It may also have been the name of unidentified or lost hamlets elsewhere in France (compare Bellew 1). Belleau in Aisne is a further possible source but this placename recorded as Balliolum in 1231 has a different origin and it is not known if it gave rise to a surname or whether its re-formation as Belleau (a piece of folk etymology) took place early enough to affect the pronunciation of any such surname.2: nickname from Old French beu bel ‘beautiful’ (see Bel) + the diminutive suffix -eau. Compare Ballou 2.
Bellet : French:: 1: nickname for a handsome man from a derivative of bel ‘beautiful handsome’ (see Bel).2: habitational name from Bellet the name of several places in France.
Bellett : 1: from the Old French and Middle English female personal names Belet Belot diminutives of Bel (see Bell). 2: possibly a late variant of Bellard.
Bellew : 1: English Irish and Scottish (of Norman origin): habitational name from a lost or unidentified estate in or near Normandy named with Old French bel + eau ‘beautiful water’ as is clear from the Anglo-Norman French and Middle English surname spelling de Belewe and its Latin rendering as de Bella Aqua. The source of the surname is often stated to be Bellou (Orne) but this is improbable as its etymological form Be(r)lou requires a different etymology than bella aqua. Nor is the surname from Belleau in Lincolnshire; this is post-medieval re-formation of the medieval placename Helgelo (Old Norse ‘Helgi's glade or meadow’).2: Variant or Americanized form of Ballou a surname of probable French origin. Compare Ballew 1 Balliew Belew 1 Belue and Billue.
Bellwood : English: habitational name from Belwood in Belton in Axholme (Lincolnshire). The placename is from Old English bel ‘dry ground in a fen’ + wudu ‘wood’.
Belmore : 1: Altered form of French Canadian Bellemare.2: English (southeastern): nickname from Middle English bel(le) ‘fair fine’ + amour ‘love’ (Old French bel + amo(u)r).3: English (southeastern): perhaps also a habitational name from any of several places called Belmore or Bellmoor such as Belmore Farm in Ratlinghope Shropshire or the name underlying Belmoredean in West Grinstead in Sussex.
Belony : French: variant of Belon a nickname derived from Old French bel ‘beautiful’. This surname is very rare in France. It was brought to the US from Haiti.
Belote : English: from Belet a common medieval personal name possibly from a diminutive of Old French bel ‘beautiful’. This surname is not found in Britain.
Belsey : 1: from one or more of the numerous places called Belasis or similar such as Bellasis (Northumb) Bellasize (ER Yorks) Belasis in Billingham and Bellasis in Durham (both Durham) Belsize Park in Hampstead (Middx) Belsize Farm in Castor (Northants) Belsize Farm in Watford (Herts) and Belsars Field in Willingham (Cambs). All these names are from Anglo-Norman French bel ‘beautiful’ + assis ‘seat residence’. 2: perhaps also from Belsay in Bolam (Northumb) which is recorded as Bilesho in 1162 Beleshowe in 1255 and Belsey in 1663. The post-medieval bearers given here may alternatively belong to (1).
Belton : 1: English: habitational name from any of various places called Belton for example in Leicestershire Lincolnshire and Suffolk. The first element bel is of uncertain origin; the second is Old English tūn ‘enclosure settlement’.2: English: occasionally a variant of Bilton a habitational name from Bilton in Warwickshire.3: Irish: from the Norman name Weldon relatively common in Ireland which has sometimes been Gaelicized as de Bhéalatún and re-Anglicized as Veldon and Belton.
Belval : French and Haitian: topographic name from French bel val ‘beautiful valley’ or a habitational name from (Le) Belval the name of several places in the northern part of France as for example in Ardennes Manche and Vosges and in Haiti.
Bemrose : probably from Beaumaris (Anglesey) from the custodianship of the castle or burgess status there or from a similarly named but unidentified place; the place-name is from Norman French bel ‘beautiful’ + mareis ‘marsh’.
Bevis : English (Hampshire and the Isle of Wight; of Norman origin):: 1: habitational name from Beauvais in Oise France.2: from a term of endearment from Old French beu bel ‘handsome’ (also used in the sense ‘dear’) + Anglo-Norman French fiz ‘son’.
Bew : English (Berkshire and Oxfordshire): from Middle English be(a)u bewe ‘beautiful fair’ (Old French beu bel).
Bieler : 3: Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of the many places in eastern Europe whose name incorporates the Slavic element bel ‘white’.1: German: occupational name for someone who used or made hatchets; a variant of Biehl with the addition of the agent suffix -er.2: German: habitational name for someone from Bielen in Thuringia from any of several places called Bielau in Silesia or Biele on the Oder river.4: Altered form of German Biehler.
Isabel : French Spanish Portuguese and English (of French origin): from the Old French female personal name Isabel which is first recorded in late 11th-century Paris and Maine (France). It was an alternative form of Elizabeth Old French Elisabet which had a shortened pet form Isabet. Isabel appears to have originated as a variant of Isabet in which the suffix -el was substituted for -et through re-interpretation of -et as a hypocoristic diminutive. The resultant -bel was early associated with Old French bel ‘fair beautiful’ as is evident in the French variant Isabeau. From France the name was taken to England where it achieved considerable popularity in the late medieval period as an independent personal name alongside its rarer doublet Elizabeth. In the form Isabel it also appears in Spain and Portugal while in Italy it took the form Isabella. The French surnames Isabel and Isabelle are particularly associated with Normandy.
Labelle : French:: 1: nickname from la belle ‘the beautiful (woman)’ from the feminine form of Old French beu bel ‘beautiful handsome’ (from Late Latin bellus).2: habitational name from La Belle the name of several places in various parts of France.
Lebel : French: nickname from Old French or regional French le bel ‘the handsome’ a variant of Bel with fused masculine definite article le. See also Lebeau.
More
Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
Subject to the Terms and Conditions of Ancestry
