Belle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland/England
England
France
Italy

Early Origins of the Belle family

The surname Belle was first found in the city of Verona, where earliest records are found in 1279 with Vivaldo and Filippo Bellanda, city councilors, and with the Bellani family who were well in known for their peace-making efforts. Jacobus de Belviso (c. 1270-1335) was an Italian jurist from Bologna.

Early History of the Belle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Belle research. The years 1370, 1418, 1435, 1475, 1552, 1588, 1595, 1598, 1601, 1610, 1616, 1620, 1654, 1656, 1661, 1664, 1670, 1726, 1813 and 1820 are included under the topic Early Belle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Belle Spelling Variations

Italian surnames come in far more variations than the names of most other nationalities. Regional traditions and dialects are a decisive factor in this characteristic. For example, northern names tend to end in "o", while southern in "i". Also important, but not unique to Italy, was the fact that before dictionaries and the printing press most scribes simply spelled words according to their sounds. The predictable result was an enormous number of spelling variations. The recorded spellings of Belle include Belli, Bello, Bella, De Bello, De Belli, Debelli, De Bei, De Bellis, Di Bello, Lo Bello, Lobello, Lubello, Lubelli, La Bella, Labella, Bellavista, Bellido, Bellardi, Bellezza, Bellone, Bellarmini, Bellacati, Bellacera, Bellelli, Belleli, Belle, Belletti, Bellettini, Bellini, Bellino, Bellin, Belluzzi, Bellocci, Bellozzi, Bellotti, Belotti, Bellotto, Bellotta, Belloni, Bellacci, Bellaccini, Ballacchini, Bellazzi, Bellami, Bellemo, Bellen, Bellandi, Bellani, Bellano, Bellan, Bellardo, Bellasi, Bellati, Bellato, Belliato, Bellero, Belleri, Belleschi, Bellesi, Belligi, Bellisi, Bellugi, Belluschi, Belushi, Bellussi, Bellutti, Bellutta, Bellassai, Bellantonio, Bellantoni, Bellantone, Bellantuone, Bellocchio, Bellocchi, Bellebuono, Bellobuono, Bellabuono, Bellomo, Belluomo, Begliuomini and many more.

Early Notables of the Belle family

Prominent among members of the family was Gualtieri di Bellante, a Baron and castle owner in Abruzzo in the 13th century. Members of the Belloni family in Venice were noblemen, knights, military captains, and politicians around the same time. Tommaso Bellacci, a monk in Florence was born in 1370. Bartolomeo Bellano, born in Padua in 1435, was a sculptor. Lucio Bellanti was a doctor and astrologer in Siena around 1475. Andrea Bellanti was a nobleman and banker in Siena in the 15th century. Alvise Bellacati was a famous doctor in Padua. Giovanni Bellacera was Baron of Regalmigieri in 1418. Ottone Belloni...
Another 248 words (18 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Belle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Belle Ranking

In the United States, the name Belle is the 7,433^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Belle is ranked the 3,013^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,000 - 2,500 people with that name. 2

Belle migration to the United States +

Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Belle or a variant listed above:

Belle Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Belle, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 3

Belle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Jean Pierre Belle, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1754 3

Belle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Belle, aged 21, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1848 3

Belle migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Belle Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Thomas Belle U.E. who settled in New Brunswick c. 1783 4

Belle migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Belle Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William S. Belle, aged 20, a farm labourer, who arrived in Bluff, New Zealand aboard the ship "Adamant" in 1875 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Belle (post 1700) +

Bernard Belle (1964-2022), American four-time Grammy Award winning composer, producer, musician and songwriter for Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston
Ekkehardt Belle (1954-2022), German television actor, best known for his role as David Balfour in the 1979 HTV production of Kidnapped opposite David McCallum
Sylvia Belle Chase (1938-2019), American correspondent for ABC's 20/20 from its inception until 1985
Maggie Belle Hodges, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Louisiana, 1956, 1960 (member, Committee on Rules and Order of Business) 6
Donna Belle Urquhart (b. 1986), Australian gold medalist squash player at the 2010 World Team Championships
La Belle Otero (1868-1965), Spanish-born dancer, actress and courtesan
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse (1869-1948), American literary critic, compiler of anthologies, and poet
Donna Belle Mullenger (1921-1986), birth name of Donna Reed, American Academy Award and Golden Globe winning film and television actress
Elsie Belle McDaniel, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from Missouri, 1940 7
Willie Belle Boone, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1996 8

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, May 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html