The Bonnell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,668 people carried this name — #7,165 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 63,300 people counted. That is up 2% from 4,556 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Bonnell surname

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Bonehill’.

His entry covers Bonehill, Bonhill, Bonell and Bonnell.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 117 · public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 31 people named Bonnell.

10 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 7 départements, most often Paris.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 10
Paris 8
Bouches-du-Rhône 4
Hauts-de-Seine 3
Seine-Saint-Denis 3
Gironde 1
Seine-Maritime 1
Tarn 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In print

Bonnell in American newspapers,
1916–1919.

Newspaper page from Evening Journal carrying the name Bonnell
Evening Journal 1916-12-12
Newspaper page from The Mahoning Dispatch carrying the name Bonnell
The Mahoning Dispatch 1919-10-03
Newspaper page from Evening Journal carrying the name Bonnell
Evening Journal 1916-12-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 21,734 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Bonnell in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

1,937 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bonnell. The most, 486, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Queensland, at 3.0 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 1,156
New South Wales 321
Victoria 236
Tasmania 102
South Australia 97
Western Australia 14
ACT (Canberra) 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Bonnell.

Who carried it

People named Bonnell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James Bonnell
    James Bonnell 1653–1699 · official
  • Clement du Mont Bonnell
    Clement du Mont Bonnell 1766–1856
  • Allison C. Bonnell
    Allison C. Bonnell 1825–1875 · politician
  • John Bonnell 1710–1770
  • Joseph Bonnell 1802–1840 · military personnel
  • Ernst Bonnell 1817–1893 · librarian

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Bonnell,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States484 records

484 records of the Bonnell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 181
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 124
  • Other U.S. records 179
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Irles L. Bonnell

    Born 1908 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Portland, Oregon; lumberman from Lincoln County, Oregon. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1978, buried at Willamette National Cemetery, Oregon.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William Lawrence Bonnell

    Born 1942; from Haverhill, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, field artillery surveyor; killed in action 1967 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thomas Bonnell

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Western World from Liverpool, aged 25; miner. From Gweeneeny, Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 484 records for Bonnell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada179 records

179 records of the Bonnell name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 157
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 8
  • Other Canadian records 14
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Louis Bonnell

    Killed in 1910 at the Dominion No. 2 mine, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Rebecca Bonnell

    Buried in 1910 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 37.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Charles Ernest Bonnell

    Died in service in 1943.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 179 records for Bonnell in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia57 records

57 records of the Bonnell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 25
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 23
  • Other Australian records 9
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Bonnell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Mangles, arriving 1820; ticket of leave 1829.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Walter Bonnell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Cossipore, aged 22; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Arthur Henry Bonnell

    Retired clerk of Golden Square, Victoria; died 2001.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 57 records for Bonnell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

France12 records

12 records of the Bonnell name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Pierre Bernard Bonnell

    Born 1902 in Paris; died 1976 in Angely (Yonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Odette Marie Marthe Bonnell

    Born 1912 in Algeria; died 1998 in La Garde (Var).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Robert Maurice Bonnell

    Born 1928 in Paris; died 1972 in Noirétable (Loire).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Bonnell in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

United Kingdom10 records

10 records of the Bonnell name in the United Kingdom
  • Welsh wills index cards 7
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Henry Bonnell

    Will proved in 1936; of Burry Port, Carmarthenshire.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Bonnell

    Buried in 1796 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 35.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Bonnell

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 10 records for Bonnell in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Bonnell name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Georg Bonnell

    From Berlin. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 5 January 1918; then reported taken prisoner in the list of 8 March 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Bonnell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Bonnell 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.

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