Wells
Statue of Neptune, sculpted in Aphrodisias, 2nd century, (Museo del Prado)
Pronunciation/wɛlz/
Origin
Word/nameOld English
MeaningOf Neptune, spring
Region of originRoman Britain
Other names
Variant form(s)Well, Welman, Welles, Wellman and Wellsman

Wells is an English surname of Norman origin, but is possibly a Welsh surname, 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.

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.

Origin

It is said that the origin is sometimes derived from Roman Britain or Roman Empire because the city of Wells. Wells is an Old English surname of Norman origin but is possibly a Welsh surname, from an old English word for Wales.[3] The meaning can be derived as the Roman god Neptune as “sea god”. Habitational name 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.[4] 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

A

B

C

D

E

F

  • Fay Gillis Wells (1908–2002), pioneer aviator, journalist and broadcaster
  • Frank Wells (1932–1994), American entertainment businessman

G

H

I

  • Ida B. Wells (1862–1931), African American civil rights leader
  • Ima Wells (1936–2014), American educator and politician
  • Ira K. Wells (1871–1934), American lawyer and federal judge

J

K

  • Keith Wells (1962–1994), convicted and executed murderer
  • Kent Wells (born 1967), American football player
  • Kerry Anne Wells, Miss Australia and Miss Universe, 1972
  • Killian Wells, American pop music artist and entrepreneur
  • Kip Wells (born Robert Wells, 1977), American baseball player
  • Kitty Wells (1919–2012), stage name of Ellen Deason, American country music singer
  • Kristin Wells, the secret identity of the 1981 version of DC Comics Superwoman

L

  • L. M. Wells (1862–1923), American actor of the silent era
  • Lawrence Wells (1860–1938), Australian explorer
  • Lemuel H. Wells (1841–1936), first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane
  • Leo Wells (1917–2006), American baseball player
  • Lesley B. Wells (born 1937), U.S. federal judge
  • Lightnin' Wells, American Piedmont blues multi-instrumentalist and singer
  • Lilian Wells (1911-2001), Australian church leader
  • Linton Wells (1893–1976), American foreign correspondent, world traveller and pioneer broadcaster
  • Lloyd C. A. Wells (1924–2005), American sports photographer and civil rights advocate
  • Lloyd Wells (born c. mid-1940s), American jazz guitarist
  • Lynn Wells, American civil rights activist during the 1960s

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Z

  • Zach Wells (born Zachary Stephen Wells, 1981), American soccer goalkeeper
  • Zachariah Wells (born 1976), Canadian poet, critic, essayist and editor
  • Zeb Wells, American comic book writer

Fictional characters

Bearers of the forename

  • Wells A. Hutchins (1818–1895), U.S. Representative from Ohio
  • Wells Coates (1895–1958), Canadian-born English architect, designer and writer
  • Wells Goodykoontz (1872–1944), American politician from West Virginia
  • Wells Spicer (1831–1887?), American journalist, prospector, politician, lawyer and judge
  • Wells Thompson (born 1983), American soccer player
  • Wells Tower (born 1973), American writer of short stories and non-fiction
  • Wells Twombly (1935–1977), American sportswriter and author

Bearers in other parts of the name

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Surname: Wells". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
  2. ↑ "Wells Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution". forebears.io.
  3. ↑ "THE BISHOP'S PALACE AND BISHOP'S HOUSE, Wells - 1382873 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  4. ↑ "Surname Database: Wells Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
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