Fells Surname: Origin, Meaning & Coat of Arms

Long before computers fixed spellings, Fells and Fell were used side by side. At root, the name means “Dweller on, or near, the rocky mountain; one who dealt in hides or furs”. Fells adds a patronymic ending to Fell, marking ‘son of’ or ‘of the family of’. You may also find the name written Fels.

The 2010 census count for Fells in the United States was 1,956, good for rank 15,080. That puts it among the top 25,000 US surnames.

A coat of arms belongs to a particular family line rather than to everyone named Fells, so the heraldry linked to Fell is a starting point, not an automatic right. Want more than a summary? See the Fells family name pack.