The Bel surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 427 people carried this name — #49,268 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 714,300 people counted. That is up 16% from 369 in 2000.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 2,209 people named Bel.
97 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 83 départements, most often Haute-Savoie.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 595 people named Bel live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Entre Ríos.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
119 people named Bel live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 67 people named Bel live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
41 people named Bel is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Who carried it
People named Bel,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Jean-Jacques Bel 1693–1738 · writer -
Louis Georges Jean Bel 1888–1969 · military personnel -
Johann de Bel 1450–1482 · printer
-
Pierre Bel 1742–1813 · engineer
-
Jules Bel 1850–1922 · botanist
-
Mrs Alphonse Bel 1850–1929 · entomologist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Bel.
- Beil 59,463 · U.S. census
- Bein 691 · U.S. census
- Beitz 586 · U.S. census
- Bekaert 108 · U.S. census
- Beke 261 · U.S. census
- Beker 253 · U.S. census
- Belair 1,709 · U.S. census
- Belaire 471 · U.S. census
- Belan 359 · U.S. census
- Belanger 12,922 · U.S. census
- Belardi 211 · U.S. census
- Belardinelli 139 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Bel is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.