Well is used as a family name or surname in Ireland, Germany, England. It is 4 characters long in length.

Family Name / Last Name: Well
No. of characters: 4
Origin: Ireland, Germany, England
Meaning:

Well is a form of the Wells. 1. Towns in counties Somerset and Norfolk. 2. A pluralization of Well.

The termination of numerous surnames of the local class, as Bedwell, Creswell, Faxwell, Harewell, Sitwell, Trigwell, Tugwell. In some few known instances it is a corruption of ville, and consequently of Norman or French origin; thus Boswell was anciently Bosville; Fretwell, Frescheville; Colwell, Colville, etc. But in the great majority the termination 'means what it says'- namely, fons, origo. Verstegan says:— "Our ancestors, according to the different issue of waters, did differently term them. Sundry coming to possess places which were near unto Wells of especial note, having gotten thereby the name of such or such a Well, became after them so to be called; as Staniwell, of his dwelling at a well so named, of the stoniness thereof; Moswell, of a well where much moss did grow." This is not strictly correct. Springs and Wells gave names in many instances to places, and families adopted them from those places. Sometimes when a well bore no particular name, a cottager or small proprietor resident near at hand would get the name of Atte Welle, or De la Welle, afterwards shortened and corrupted to Wells. Both Weller and Wellman, are from the same source. In days when pumps, to say nothing of 'water-works,' were unknown, a public well was of great importance in every village, and hence the commonness of the name of Wells and its congeners. Attwells, and its contraction Twells, with Wellspring, occur in the London Direct. Many wells, as has been already intimated, bore some characteristic epithet, as Blackwell, Whitewell, Greenwell, Coldwell, and others which are mentioned in their proper places. Leapingwell, Loudwell. Other languages have surnames of the same kind. Thus French Du Puy, Dupuis, De la Fontaine; Dutch, Van der Put; Italian Pozzi. The common latinization is De Fontibus.

Well is a variation of Wells. Dweller at, or near, the spring or stream; one who came from Well, i.e., spring or stream, the name of several places in England.

Dweller at, or near, the spring or stream; one who came from Well, i.e., spring or stream, the name of several places in England.

Form of Twells. See Wells - 1. Towns in counties Somerset and Norfolk. 2. A pluralization of Well.

How popular is Well?

Well is common in United States, Egypt, Germany, Bangladesh, India, Russia, Indonesia, Ghana, Saudi Arabia.

Well is ranked 78770 on our list.

As per 2010 US census, number of Wells plummeted by 36.22 per cent to 752 since 2000 and slipped by 10099 spots and ranked at 30916. The last name was found in around 2 per million population. Please refer to following table for race and ethnicity.

Race 2010 2000
White 72.61 78.37
Black 20.74 16.12
Hispanic or Latino 3.72 2.37
Others 1.33 1.78
Well is quite popular family name mostly used in United States however Falkland Islands is ahead in terms of density. Around 6199 people have been found who wears Well as their family name. Well is used widely across the globe. More detailed information can be found below:
RankCountryCount
Countries with thousands of Well:
22,459 United States1,552
Countries with hundreds of Well:
9,519 Egypt793
14,342 Germany690
11,259 Bangladesh360
73,357 India348
40,292 Russia342
36,510 Indonesia303
9,187 Ghana277
22,057 Saudi Arabia199
Countries with low frequency i.e., 50 - 100:
36,401 England91
909 China88
15,161 Papua New Guinea73
43,932 Canada71
87,396 Nigeria65
23,445 Malaysia64
55,038 Iran58
105,435 Brazil56
35,980 Netherlands56
60,459 Poland52
Countries with very low frequency i.e., 10 - 50:
7,727 Liberia46
10,559 Colombia34
19,099 United Arab Emirates34
57,058 Australia28
38,275 Pakistan27
189,486 France26
2,848 Honduras26
36,996 Austria25
12,055 Latvia25
162,661 Philippines23
21,878 New Zealand20
5,132 Jamaica19
13,856 Singapore17
336,594 Thailand17
56,781 Belarus14
28,211 Venezuela12
73,455 Zimbabwe12
Countries with very very low frequency i.e., 6 - 10:
83,699 Kazakhstan10
20,332 Scotland10
78,608 Spain10
54,497 Morocco9
1,210 South Sudan9
5,799 Sudan9
16,335 Taiwan9
8,246 Tunisia9
115,463 Italy8
90,587 Sweden8
68,742 Tanzania8
177,858 South Africa7
1,961 American Samoa6
55,922 Qatar6
123,710 Uganda6
Show Full Last Name Distribution

Immigrants to US

From Ireland

James Well was 24 years old when he migrated to USA during Irish famine on May 10, 1849. He lived in Ireland where he worked as immigrant and took La Rue from Liverpool. Immigrant W.H.Mrs. Well, John Well, aged 19, are other Well that migrated to US.

From Germany

Gustav Well hailed from Baden. 31 years old embarked for Ohio from Havre on John Cumming and arrived on May 30, 1850. 24 years old Catherine Well, Conr. Well, aged 20, Heinrich Well, aged 23, Johann Well, Margaretha Well, aged 25, Christian Well (15), Christiane Well, aged 20, Christiane Well (49), and 53 other Well majority of whom were laborer and others worked as baker migrated to US.

Well Namesakes

  • Maudlin of the Well, avant-garde metal band from Boston, Massachusetts
  • The Damning Well, rock supergroup comprising Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit on guitar, Danny Lohner formerly of Nine Inch Nails on bass
  • Timothy Well, professional wrestler
  • Scarlet's Well, British pop band
  • Dick van Well, Dutch businessman and currently chairman of Dutch football team Feyenoord Rotterdam

Well Namesakes

  • Maudlin of the Well, avant-garde metal band from Boston, Massachusetts
  • The Damning Well, rock supergroup comprising Wes Borland of Limp Bizkit on guitar, Danny Lohner formerly of Nine Inch Nails on bass
  • Timothy Well, professional wrestler
  • Scarlet's Well, British pop band
  • Dick van Well, Dutch businessman and currently chairman of Dutch football team Feyenoord Rotterdam

Related Family Names: