Show ContentsBellis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Bellis is a name that was originally given to a near the outer wall of a feudal castle which is derived from the Old French word baille, which referred to such a structure.

Early Origins of the Bellis family

The surname Bellis was first found in Colchester, where they had been granted lands about the year 1500. The name was originally spelt Bellis. Baile Hill is a man-made earth mound in York, England. It is thought to have been built in 1068 and played a part in William the Conqueror's conquest of York.

Early History of the Bellis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bellis research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bellis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellis Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Bayle, Bayles, Baile, Bailes, Bellis and others.

Early Notables of the Bellis family

More information is included under the topic Early Bellis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bellis Ranking

In the United States, the name Bellis is the 14,691st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Bellis migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Bellis Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • William Bellis, who settled in America in 1730
  • John Bellis, who settled in America in 1774
Bellis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Manuel Bellis, who settled in Philadelphia in 1820
  • Samuel Bellis, who arrived in Indiana in 1851
  • J. B. Bellis, who arrived in San Francisco in 1852
  • J. B. Bellis, who settled in San Francisco, California in 1852
Bellis Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Lazaros Bellis, who arrived in Boston in 1906

Australia Bellis migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Bellis Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Edward Bellis, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Camden" on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [2]
  • James Bellis, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "The Stratheden" in 1850 [3]
  • Mr. Thomas Bellis, English convict who was convicted in Chester, Cheshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 27th August 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) [4]
  • Edward Bellis, aged 25, who arrived in South Australia in 1854 aboard the ship "Dirigo" [5]

West Indies Bellis migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [6]
Bellis Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Edward Bellis, who settled in St. Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635
  • Edward Bellis, aged 21, who landed in St Christopher in 1635 [7]
  • Mr. Edward Bellis, (b. 1614), aged 21, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 [8]

Contemporary Notables of the name Bellis (post 1700) +

  • Benjamin Neil Bellis (b. 1924), retired American Air Force Lieutenant General, Vice Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe
  • Richard Bellis (b. 1946), American Primetime Emmy Award winning composer from Pasadena, California
  • Joy Bellis, American Jazz Singer
  • Roger Bellis, American politician, Mayor of Hyattsville, Maryland, 1911-12
  • Joe Bellis, American Libertarian politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Kansas 3rd District, 2004
  • George Alfred Bellis (1904-1969), Indian-born, English professional footballer
  • Alfred "Alf" Bellis (b. 1920), former English footballer
  • Guy Bellis (1886-1980), English actor
  • Scott Bellis, Canadian actor from Vancouver
  • Jonathan Bellis (b. 1988), Manx racing cyclist from Douglas
  • ... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Dorsetshire
  • Arthur Bellis (d. 1945), British Leading Stoker aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking [9]


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 2nd December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/camden
  3. State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The STRATHEDEN 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Stratheden.htm
  4. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
  5. South Australian Register Thursday 23rd November 1854. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Dirigo 1854. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/dirigo1854.shtml
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. 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)
  8. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  9. Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html


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