Wells (name)
Origin | |
---|---|
Word/name | English |
Meaning | "spring" |
Region of origin | England |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Well, Welman, Welles, Wellman and Wellsman |
Wells is a surname of English origin, but is occasionally used as a given name too. It 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][2] At the time of the British Census of 1881 Wells Surname at Forebears,[3] 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. People with the name include:
Surname
A
- Alan Wells (born 1961), English cricketer
- Alexander H. Wells (d. 1857), New York lawyer, newspaper editor and politician
- Alfred Wells (1814–1867), U.S. Representative from New York
- Alfred Wells (1859–1935), architect in South Australia
- Alice Wells, American diplomat and U.S. Ambassador to Jordan
- Alice Stebbins Wells (1873–1957), first female officer in Los Angeles Police Dept
- Allan Wells (born 1952) Scottish Olympic athlete
- Alphege of Wells (or Ælfheah, died c.937), third Anglo-Saxon Bishop of Wells
- Andy Wells (Canadian politician), mayor of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
- Andy Wells (American politician) (born 1954), politician in North Carolina
- Andrew Wells, character in the U.S. television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Angus Wells (1943–2006), British writer of genre fiction, including fantasy and westerns
- Audrey Wells (1960–2018), American screenwriter, film director and producer
B
- Basil Wells (Basil Eugene Wells, 1912–2003), American writer.
- Ben Wells (actor) (born 1982), American television and film actor
- Ben Wells (American Guitarist) for southern rock band "Black Stone Cherry"
- Ben Wells (footballer), English footballer
- Benjamin W. Wells (1856–1923), American scholar and editor
- Bertram Whittier Wells (1884–1978), American botanist and ecologist
- Bill Wells, Scottish musician
- Bill Wells (footballer) (William George "Bill" Wells, a.k.a. "Bomber" Wells, 1920—2013), Australian Rules footballer
- Billy Wells (football player) (William Prescott Wells, 1931–2001), American footballer
- Billy Wells (footballer) (William Charles Richard Wells, 1916–1984), Australian Rules footballer
- Bob Wells (baseball) (Robert Lee Wells, born 1966), American baseball pitcher
- Bomber Wells (Bryan Douglas Wells, 1930–2008), English cricketer
- Bonzi Wells (Gawen DeAngelo Wells, born 1976), American professional basketball player
- Boomer Wells (David Lee Wells, born 1963), American baseball pitcher
- Bowen Wells (born 1935), British politician
- Brian Wells (disambiguation)
- Briant H. Wells (1871-1949), American Major General
- Bruce Wells (1933–2009), English boxer
- Bubba Wells (Charles Richard "Bubba" Wells, born 1974), American basketball player
- Bulkeley Wells (1872–1931), "colourful character"
C
- Cal Wells, American businessman
- Caroline Louise Josephine Wells (1856–1939), first professionally qualified female dentist in Ontario, Canada.
- Carolyn Wells (1862–1942), American author and poet
- Chandler Wells (1812-1870), Pioneering Minister and founder of city in Michigan
- Charles Wells (disambiguation)
- Charlie Wells (Charles Wells 1892—1929), Australian Rules footballer
- Charlie Wells (Charles Harding Wells 1923-2004), Mississippi hardboiled mystery writer
- Chris Wells (disambiguation)
- Clara Louisa Wells (c.1850-c.1925), American writer and inventor
- Clark Henry Wells (1822–1888), U.S. Navy Rear Admiral
- Claudia Wells (born 1966), American actress
- Clifford Wells (1896–1977), American basketball coach
- Clyde Wells (born 1937), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Colin Wells (disambiguation)
- Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (aka "Connie", born 1960), Australian politician
- Cory Wells (1942–2015), American singer (Three Dog Night)
- Cyril Wells (1871–1963), English cricketer, rugby footballer and schoolmaster
D
- Daniel Wells (disambiguation)
- David Wells (disambiguation)
- Dawn Wells (born 1938), American actress
- Dean Wells (disambiguation)
- Deane Wells (born 1949), Australian politician
- Delores Wells (born 1937), American model, actress, Playboy Playmate June 1960
- Derek Wells (born 1946), Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman
- Dicky Wells (William Wells, 1907–1985), American jazz trombonist
- Dino Wells (David R. Wells Jr, born 1971), American actor, writer and production assistant
- Dolly Wells (born 1971), English actress
- Doris Wells (1943–1988), Venezuelan actress, writer, and director
- Dustin Wells (born 1983), Australian soccer player
E
- EJ Wells and Samantha Brady, fictional characters from the American soap opera Days of our Lives
- Earle Wells (born 1933), New Zealand Olympic Gold medallist in yachting
- Ed Wells (baseball) (1900–1986), American baseball pitcher, nickname "Satchelfoot"
- Edmund W. Wells (1846–1938), American jurist, businessman, and politician.
- Edward Wells (theologian) (1667–1727), English mathematician, geographer, and controversial theologian
- Edward Wells (MP) (1821–1910), English Conservative Party politician, MP for Wallingford 1872–80
- Edward Curtis Wells (1910–1986), director of Boeing Company, designer of the Boeing 747
- Emmeline B. Wells (1828–1921), American journalist, editor, poet, women's rights advocate and diarist
- Erastus Wells (1823–1893), American politician and businessman
- Erik Wells, contemporary American politician and former television news anchor
- Evelyn Wells, 20th century biographer and author
F
- Fay Gillis Wells (1908–2002), pioneer aviator, journalist and broadcaster
- Frank Wells (1932–1994), American entertainment businessman
G
- G. Wells, English cricketer active 1814–1821
- G. P. Wells, English astronomer (Guy Paul Wells FRAS)
- G. P. Wells (George Philip Wells, 1901–1985), zoologist, author and son of H. G. Wells
- Garrett Wells, fictional attorney on the American TV legal series Boston Legal
- Gawen DeAngelo "Bonzi" Wells (born 1976), American basketball player
- Geoffrey of Wells (Galfridius Fontibus), mid-twelfth-century English hagiographer
- George Wells (disambiguation)
- Georgeann Wells, American basketball player active in the 1980s
- Gisa (Bishop of Wells), also spelt Giso, bishop from 1060 to 1088
- Greg Wells (born 1968), Canadian musician and record producer
- Greg Wells (baseball) (born 1954), American baseball player
- Greg Wells (footballer, born 1950), Australian rules footballer
- Greg Wells (footballer, born 1952), Australian rules footballer
- Guilford Wiley Wells (1840–1909), U.S. Representative from Mississippi
H
- Harrison Wells, the name of several fictional characters appearing in the 2014 TV series The Flash
- Harry Wells (disambiguation)
- Heber Manning Wells (1859–1938), American politician, first Governor of Utah
- Helen Wells (1910–1986), author of nurse Cherry Ames books, a series for young teens
- Helena Wells, later Whitford (1761?- 1824), American-English novelist and writer
- Henry Wells (disambiguation)
- Herbert George Wells (H. G. Wells, 1866–1946), prolific British science fiction writer and Fabian socialist
- Herbert Wells (soccer) (born 1901), U.S. soccer player
- Herman B Wells (1902–2000), 11th president of Indiana University
- Holly Wells (1991–2002), British murder victim in the 2002 Soham murders
- Horace Wells (1815–1848), pioneering American dentist
- Horatio Wells (1807–1858), American lawyer and politician
- Hugh de Wells, (d. 1235), medieval Bishop of Lincoln.
- Humphrey Wells, former Governor of Georgia
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
- J. Wells (born Jon Wells, 1982), record producer and occasional rapper
- Jabez H. Wells (1853-1930), American politician and curler
- Jack Wells (John Hampson Wells, aka "Cactus Jack", 1911–1999), Canadian radio and television broadcaster
- Jack Wells (footballer) (aka "Balla" Wells, born 1883), Australian rules football
- Jair-Rôhm Parker Wells (born 1958), American free jazz bassist, composer and conceptualist
- James Wells (disambiguation)
- James Babbage Wells Jr. (1850–1923), Texan judge
- James L. Wells, New York State Treasurer 1915–1920
- James Madison Wells, Louisiana governor 1865–1867
- James Murray Wells, English entrepreneur (Glasses Direct)
- James Pearson Wells (1822–1896), Canadian farmer and political figure
- Jane Wells (born 1961), CNBC business news reporter
- Jared Wells (born 1981), American baseball pitcher
- Jason Wells (disambiguation)
- Jay Wells (born 1959), Canadian ice hockey player
- Jean Wells, American artist
- Jeremy Wells (born 1977), New Zealand television personality
- Jerold Wells (1908–1999), English actor
- Jerry Lee Wells (1944–2014), American basketball player
- Jim L. Wells, American sports radio host
- Jim Wells (politician) (born 1957), Irish politician
- Jim Wells (baseball) (born 1955), American baseball coach
- Jocelin of Wells (died 1242), medieval Bishop of Bath and Wells
- Jodie Wells and Pearl Wells, in Jacqueline Wilson's book My Sister Jodie
- Joey Wells (born 1965), Bahamian long jumper
- Jonathan Wells (disambiguation)
- John Wells (disambiguation)
- Joseph Wells (disambiguation)
- Jordan C. Wells, head coach of the Syracuse college football program from 1892
- Julie Elizabeth Wells (born 1935), more popularly known as Julie Andrews
- Juliette Wells, American author and Jane Austen specialist
- Junior Wells (1934–1998), born Amos Blakemore, was a blues vocalist and harmonica player
- Junius F. Wells (1854–1930), first head of the Mormon "Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association"
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 (born Ellen Muriel Deason, 1919–2012), 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
- Lee Wells (born 1971), American artist, curator, technology and art consultant
- 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
- 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
- Malcolm Wells (1926–2009), American architect, "father of modern earth-sheltered home"
- Margaret Bruce Wells (1909–1998), British artist and printmaker
- Margot Wells (born 1952), Scottish sprinter and English sprint and fitness coach
- Mark Wells (born 1957), American ice hockey player
- Mark Wells (footballer) (born 1971), British soccer player
- Mark Wells (musician) (born 1973), Australian musician and record producer
- Martha Wells (born 1964), American fantasy and science fiction author
- Mary Wells (Mary Esther Wells, 1943–1992), American singer
- Mary K. Wells (1920–2000), American television writer and actress
- Matt Wells (television presenter), Canadian videographer, TV co-host and singer
- Matt Wells (boxer) (1886–1953), British Olympic and professional boxer
- Matthew Wells (field hockey) (born 1978), Australian Olympic field hockey defender
- Matthew Wells (American football) (born 1990), American football player
- Meech Wells, American hip-hop music producer, son of Mary Wells
- Melissa F. Wells (born 1932), diplomat and former United States Ambassador
- Mike Wells (defensive lineman) (born 1971), American footballer
- Mike Wells (quarterback) (born 1951), American footballer
- Milton Wells (1829–1906), American Union Civil War brevet brigadier general
- Monty Garland-Wells (1907–1993), English cricketer
- Murray C. Wells (born 1936), Australian economist
N
- Nahki Wells, Bermudian professional footballer for Huddersfield Town
- Nathaniel Wells (1779–1852), landowner, magistrate and Britain's first black Sheriff
- Nick Wells (born 1951), American heavyweight boxer
- Nina Mitchell Wells, American lawyer, academic and currently Secretary of State of New Jersey
- Norm Wells, American football player
O
- Oliver Elwin Wells, American educator
- Orlando Wells (born 1973), British actor
- George Orson Welles, American film director
- Owen A. Wells (1844–1935), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
- Owen Wells (basketball) (1950–1993)
P
- Patricia Wells (born 1946), US cookbook author
- Paul Wells (born 1966), Canadian journalist
- Pearl Wells and Jodie Wells, in Jacqueline Wilson's book My Sister Jodie
- Percy Wells (1891–1964), British trade union official and Member of Parliament
- Percy Wells (businessman) (1825–1909) associated with marine civil engineering in South Australia.
- Peter Wells (disambiguation)
- Philip Steven Wells, Canadian hematologist
R
- Randall Wells (Albert Randall Wells, 1877–1942), English architect
- Randy Wells (Randy David Wells, 1982) baseball pitcher
- Ray Wells (born 1980), American football player
- Rebecca Wells (born 1953), actress, playwright, author of Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
- Reggie Wells (born 1980), American footballer
- Reginald Fairfax Wells (1877–1951), British artist and aviator
- Renward Wells (born 1970), Bahamian sprinter
- Rhoshii Wells (1976–2008), American boxer
- Rob Wells (born 1972), Canadian songwriter, musician and record producer
- Robb Wells (born 1971), Canadian actor and screenwriter
- Robert Wells (disambiguation)
- Robin Wells (born 1959), American economist
- Robison Wells (born 1978), American novelist
- Rolla Wells (1856–1944), American politician
- Rosemary Wells, contemporary author of children's books
- Roy Wells (born 1978), American baseball player for the Seattle Mariners
- Rulon S. Wells (1854–1941), Utah politician
- Rupert Mearse Wells (1835–1902), Canadian politician
S
- Sally Wells, fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours
- Samuel Wells (1801–1868), American politician, Governor of Maine
- Scott James Wells, contemporary American actor
- Scott Wells (American football) (born 1981)
- Shan Wells, contemporary American sculptor and political illustrator
- Sigar of Wells (died c. 996), Bishop of Wells
- Simon of Wells (died 1207), medieval Bishop of Chichester
- Simon Wells (born 1961), director, great grandson of H. G. Wells
- Spencer Wells (born 1969), geneticist and anthropologist
- Stanfield Wells, American Footballer active c. 1910
- Stanley Wells (born 1930), British Shakespeare scholar and academic
- Steven Wells (born 1960- 2009), British journalist and author formerly based in USA
- Sue Wells, contemporary New Zealand author and city councillor
- Swithun Wells (c. 1536–1591), beatified English Catholic martyr
T
- Ted Wells, American criminal attorney
- Terry Wells (born 1963), American baseball pitcher
- Thomas Wells (disambiguation)
- Todd Wells, contemporary American bicycle racer (cyclo-cross and mountain bike)
- Tommy Wells (born 1957), Washington, D.C. politician
- Tyrone Wells, contemporary American singer/songwriter in the folk pop genre
V
- Vernon Wells III (born 1978), American baseball player
- Vernon Wells (actor) (born 1945), Australian film and television actor
- Vincent Wells (born 1965), English cricketer
W
- W. Wells, English cricketer active 1791–1816
- W. Woodbury Wells (1860–1901), Canadian teacher, lawyer and political figure
- Warren Wells (born 1942), American football player
- Wayne Richard Wells (1965–2014) (aka Wayne Static), American metal musician
- Wayne Wells (wrestler) (born 1946), American Olympic wrestler
- William Wells (disambiguation)
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
First name
- 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
Other parts of name
- Wells–Bennett–Grant family
- Berthold Wells Key (1895–1986), British Indian Army general
- Charles Wells Russell (1818–1867), Confederate politician during the American Civil War
- Elizabeth Anne Wells Cannon (1859–1942), women's suffragist and politician in Utah
- Elizabeth Wells Gallup (1848–1934), American educator
- George Wells Beadle (1903–1989), American scientist and Nobel Prize laureate
- George Wells Parker (1882–1931), African American political activist and writer
- Henry Wells Tracy (1807–1886), American politician
- Irene Wells Pennington (1898–2003), a very savvy lady
- James Wells Champney (1843–1903), American genre and portrait painter
- James Wells Robson (1867–1941), Canadian politician
- John Wells Foster (1815–1873), American geologist and palaeontologist
- Levi Wells Prentice (1851–1935), American still life and landscape painter
- Mary Wells Lawrence (born 1928), American advertising executive, first woman CEO of a listed company
- Reuben Wells Leonard (1860–1930), Canadian soldier, civil engineer, railroad and mining executive, and philanthropist
- Samuel Wells Morris (1786–1847), American politician
- Samuel Wells Williams (1812–1884), American linguist, missionary and sinologist
- Seth Wells Cheney (1810–1856), American artist
- Sharlene Wells Hawkes (born 1964 in Paraguay), Miss America 1985, singer, reporter, publisher
- Victoria Wells Wulsin (born 1953), American physician and aspiring politician
- William Wells Brown (1814–1884), American abolitionist lecturer, novelist, playwright and historian
- William Wells Newell (1839–1907), American folklorist, school teacher, minister and philosophy professor
See also
- Welles (name)
- Welles (disambiguation)
- Wells (disambiguation)
- All pages with titles containing Wells
- Bishop of Bath and Wells
- List of Bishops of Bath and Wells and precursor offices
- Wells baronets
References
- ^ "Surname: Wells". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
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(help) - ^ "Wells Family Crest and Name History". houseofnames.com. 9 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
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(help) - ^ "Wells Surname Meaning, Origins & Distribution". forebears.io.