Wells (name)

Last updated
Wells
Pronunciation /wɛlz/
Origin
Word/name Old English
MeaningOf spring
Other names
Variant form(s)Well, Welman, Welles, Wellman and Wellsman

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.

Contents

Wells Cathedral (1176-1450) Early English Gothic. The facade was a Great Wall of sculpture. Wells Cathedral West Front Exterior, UK - Diliff.jpg
Wells Cathedral (1176–1450) Early English Gothic. The facade was a Great Wall of sculpture.
One of the three wells which give the city its name; two are located in the gardens of the Bishop's Palace (as shown) and one in the Market Place. Wells Cathedral. - panoramio.jpg
One of the three wells which give the city its name; two are located in the gardens of the Bishop's Palace (as shown) and one in the Market Place.

Origin

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).

Bearers of the surname

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Fictional characters

Bearers of the forename

Bearers in other parts of the name

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Surname: Wells". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  2. ↑ "Wells Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution". forebears.io.
  3. ↑ "Surname Database: Wells Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  4. ↑ "Raymond Wells – Life is Strange Fans". 9 June 2020.
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