Find out how popular the last name Bellman is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Bellman.

Bellman, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Bellman surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bellman in America

Bellman is the 13486th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bellman surname appeared 2,253 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Bellman.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bellman to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Bellman

The surname Bellman has its origins in England, emerging during the medieval period. It derives from the Old English words "belle" meaning bell and "mann" or man, referring to the occupation of a bell ringer or bellman in a church or town.

In medieval England, bellmen played a crucial role in communities, ringing the bells to signal important events, such as the start of a workday, curfews, or emergencies. The first recorded use of the surname Bellman dates back to the 13th century in the English county of Staffordshire.

Historical records from the Hundred Rolls of 1273 mention a Roger le Belleman from Huntingdonshire, demonstrating the prevalence of the name during that time. The Pipe Rolls of 1230 also reference a William Beleman in Gloucestershire.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Bellman, who lived in the village of Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, in the late 14th century. The name also appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants across England after the Norman Conquest.

In the 16th century, the surname was found in various areas of England, including London and the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Somerset. Notable individuals with the surname Bellman include Richard Bellman (c. 1564 - 1624), a wealthy merchant from Somerset, and Thomas Bellman (1607 - 1677), a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony who emigrated from England in the 17th century.

Other historical figures bearing the surname Bellman include Sir Samuel Bellman (1688 - 1756), a prominent lawyer and judge in London, and Charles Bellman (1801 - 1872), a British artist known for his landscape paintings.

The surname Bellman also has variants and spellings influenced by regional dialects, such as Belman, Belleman, and Bellaman. These variations can be found in various historical records and documents across different regions of England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bellman

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Bellman.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Bellman was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Bellman has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Bellman was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Bellman, please contact us.

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