At a glance
- In short
- Wells is an English name meaning spring or stream.
- U.S. rank 2025
- #345 of boy names
- Babies in 2025
- 944 (0.051% of boys)
- Trend
- Rising #545 in 2020 to #345 in 2025
- Peak
- #345 in 2025
- Top state
- #93 in North Dakota
- First recorded
- 1881
Meaning of Wells
Wells is an English surname taken from the Middle English welle, meaning a spring or stream. It first named someone who lived by one, or who came from a place called Wells, such as the cathedral city in Somerset.
It is pronounced WELZ (/wɛlz/), rhyming with bells. Its best-known bearer is H. G. Wells, author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. The journalist and civil rights campaigner Ida B. Wells also carried the surname.
Long a rare choice for American boys, Wells ranked 1,413th in 2016 and has climbed every year since. It reached its highest rank yet, 345th, in 2025, when 944 boys were given the name. It is also No. 96 among the 1,000 most popular boys' names of 2025, ordered by how fast each climbed the rankings from 2016 to 2025.
How to pronounce Wells
English
- Pronounced wɛlz /wɛlz/
Popularity of Wells in the U.S.
Wells was the #345 boy name in the U.S. in 2025, with 944 babies. It has been in the top 1,000 since 2017. It first appears in the records in 1881.
- Rank among U.S. boy names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Year-by-year table, 1881–2025 117 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 944 | 345 | ▲ 32 |
| 2024 | 869 | 377 | ▲ 70 |
| 2023 | 696 | 447 | ▲ 20 |
| 2022 | 659 | 467 | ▲ 15 |
| 2021 | 621 | 482 | ▲ 63 |
| 2020 | 521 | 545 | ▲ 81 |
| 2019 | 432 | 626 | ▲ 104 |
| 2018 | 327 | 730 | ▲ 186 |
| 2017 | 233 | 916 | ▲ 497 |
| 2016 | 124 | 1,413 | ▲ 316 |
| 2015 | 89 | 1,729 | ▼ 15 |
| 2014 | 88 | 1,714 | ▲ 468 |
| 2013 | 60 | 2,182 | ▲ 266 |
| 2012 | 51 | 2,448 | ▲ 598 |
| 2011 | 37 | 3,046 | ▲ 331 |
| 2010 | 32 | 3,377 | ▲ 1,545 |
| 2009 | 19 | 4,922 | ▲ 327 |
| 2008 | 17 | 5,249 | ▼ 39 |
| 2007 | 17 | 5,210 | ▼ 138 |
| 2006 | 17 | 5,072 | ▼ 1,010 |
| 2005 | 22 | 4,062 | ▼ 57 |
| 2004 | 22 | 4,005 | ▲ 421 |
| 2003 | 18 | 4,426 | ▲ 2,096 |
| 2002 | 10 | 6,522 | ▲ 413 |
| 2001 | 9 | 6,935 | ▼ 2,150 |
| 2000 | 15 | 4,785 | ▲ 1,257 |
| 1999 | 10 | 6,042 | ▼ 1,392 |
| 1998 | 14 | 4,650 | ▲ 638 |
| 1997 | 11 | 5,288 | ▲ 2,683 |
| 1996 | 6 | 7,971 | ▼ 2,043 |
| 1995 | 9 | 5,928 | ▼ 60 |
| 1994 | 9 | 5,868 | ▼ 508 |
| 1993 | 10 | 5,360 | ▼ 488 |
| 1992 | 11 | 4,872 | ▼ 867 |
| 1991 | 14 | 4,005 | ▲ 1,377 |
| 1990 | 9 | 5,382 | ▲ 847 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,229 | ▼ 1,029 |
| 1988 | 8 | 5,200 | ▲ 259 |
| 1987 | 7 | 5,459 | ▼ 1,577 |
| 1986 | 11 | 3,882 | ▲ 451 |
| 1985 | 9 | 4,333 | ▼ 632 |
| 1984 | 11 | 3,701 | ▲ 1,206 |
| 1983 | 7 | 4,907 | back (not recorded in 1982) |
| 1981 | 6 | 5,468 | ▲ 782 |
| 1980 | 5 | 6,250 | ▼ 2,440 |
| 1979 | 10 | 3,810 | ▲ 347 |
| 1978 | 8 | 4,157 | ▲ 966 |
| 1977 | 6 | 5,123 | ▼ 2,028 |
| 1976 | 12 | 3,095 | ▲ 1,702 |
| 1975 | 6 | 4,797 | ▼ 1,239 |
| 1974 | 9 | 3,558 | ▼ 842 |
| 1973 | 13 | 2,716 | back (not recorded in 1972) |
| 1971 | 10 | 3,146 | ▼ 525 |
| 1970 | 13 | 2,621 | ▲ 693 |
| 1969 | 8 | 3,314 | ▼ 869 |
| 1968 | 12 | 2,445 | ▲ 786 |
| 1967 | 7 | 3,231 | ▲ 717 |
| 1966 | 5 | 3,948 | back (not recorded in 1965) |
| 1964 | 5 | 4,039 | ▼ 721 |
| 1963 | 7 | 3,318 | ▼ 13 |
| 1962 | 7 | 3,305 | ▲ 51 |
| 1961 | 7 | 3,356 | ▼ 671 |
| 1960 | 10 | 2,685 | ▲ 934 |
| 1959 | 6 | 3,619 | ▼ 344 |
| 1958 | 7 | 3,275 | ▼ 18 |
| 1957 | 7 | 3,257 | ▲ 278 |
| 1956 | 6 | 3,535 | ▼ 1,233 |
| 1955 | 12 | 2,302 | ▼ 258 |
| 1954 | 15 | 2,044 | ▲ 1,099 |
| 1953 | 7 | 3,143 | ▼ 48 |
| 1952 | 7 | 3,095 | ▼ 600 |
| 1951 | 10 | 2,495 | ▼ 384 |
| 1950 | 13 | 2,111 | ▲ 691 |
| 1949 | 8 | 2,802 | ▼ 859 |
| 1948 | 15 | 1,943 | ▲ 413 |
| 1947 | 11 | 2,356 | ▼ 407 |
| 1946 | 14 | 1,949 | ▲ 60 |
| 1945 | 12 | 2,009 | ▲ 853 |
| 1944 | 7 | 2,862 | ▼ 876 |
| 1943 | 14 | 1,986 | ▲ 400 |
| 1942 | 10 | 2,386 | ▼ 53 |
| 1941 | 10 | 2,333 | ▲ 145 |
| 1940 | 9 | 2,478 | ▼ 428 |
| 1939 | 12 | 2,050 | ▼ 232 |
| 1938 | 15 | 1,818 | ▲ 379 |
| 1937 | 11 | 2,197 | back (not recorded in 1936) |
| 1935 | 11 | 2,246 | ▼ 386 |
| 1934 | 15 | 1,860 | ▲ 682 |
| 1933 | 9 | 2,542 | ▼ 441 |
| 1932 | 13 | 2,101 | ▼ 258 |
| 1931 | 16 | 1,843 | ▼ 22 |
| 1930 | 17 | 1,821 | ▲ 1,159 |
| 1929 | 8 | 2,980 | ▼ 1,020 |
| 1928 | 16 | 1,960 | ▼ 268 |
| 1927 | 21 | 1,692 | ▲ 382 |
| 1926 | 15 | 2,074 | ▲ 119 |
| 1925 | 14 | 2,193 | ▼ 518 |
| 1924 | 22 | 1,675 | ▲ 448 |
| 1923 | 15 | 2,123 | ▼ 689 |
| 1922 | 27 | 1,434 | ▼ 256 |
| 1921 | 37 | 1,178 | ▲ 707 |
| 1920 | 18 | 1,885 | ▼ 477 |
| 1919 | 26 | 1,408 | ▲ 497 |
| 1918 | 17 | 1,905 | ▼ 212 |
| 1917 | 19 | 1,693 | ▼ 144 |
| 1916 | 21 | 1,549 | ▼ 139 |
| 1915 | 23 | 1,410 | ▼ 68 |
| 1914 | 20 | 1,342 | ▲ 238 |
| 1913 | 12 | 1,580 | ▼ 557 |
| 1912 | 20 | 1,023 | ▲ 267 |
| 1911 | 8 | 1,290 | ▲ 131 |
| 1910 | 6 | 1,421 | back (not recorded in 1901–1909) |
| 1900 | 6 | 1,162 | back (not recorded in 1896–1899) |
| 1895 | 5 | 1,079 | back (not recorded in 1887–1894) |
| 1886 | 6 | 845 | back (not recorded in 1885) |
| 1884 | 5 | 971 | back (not recorded in 1882–1883) |
| 1881 | 5 | 866 | new |
Wells by state
Wells ranks #93 in North Dakota (2025).
Rank by state 41 states and DC
| State | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 93 | 12 |
| Utah | 101 | 51 |
| New Hampshire | 121 | 12 |
| South Dakota | 145 | 9 |
| Kansas | 151 | 25 |
| Montana | 159 | 8 |
| District of Columbia | 168 | 5 |
| Maine | 172 | 7 |
| Nebraska | 173 | 16 |
| Colorado | 210 | 31 |
| Mississippi | 215 | 14 |
| Iowa | 219 | 18 |
| North Carolina | 230 | 54 |
| Oklahoma | 232 | 20 |
| Tennessee | 239 | 37 |
| Kentucky | 253 | 21 |
| South Carolina | 255 | 22 |
| Alabama | 274 | 20 |
| Michigan | 280 | 35 |
| Missouri | 281 | 24 |
| Oregon | 281 | 15 |
| Wisconsin | 285 | 20 |
| Connecticut | 296 | 10 |
| Minnesota | 314 | 19 |
| Ohio | 326 | 35 |
| Idaho | 332 | 7 |
| Illinois | 334 | 32 |
| Maryland | 344 | 15 |
| Massachusetts | 347 | 15 |
| Virginia | 351 | 23 |
| Washington | 351 | 21 |
| Louisiana | 376 | 13 |
| Georgia | 393 | 29 |
| Indiana | 395 | 18 |
| Texas | 412 | 85 |
| Pennsylvania | 415 | 25 |
| Arkansas | 489 | 6 |
| Arizona | 491 | 14 |
| Florida | 569 | 30 |
| New York | 692 | 21 |
| New Jersey | 829 | 7 |
| California | 831 | 29 |