The Spell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,313 people carried this name — #6,404 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 55,600 people counted. That is up 1% from 5,238 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Spell surname

From the German surname, perhaps related to Speller.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Spell» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Spell in American newspapers,
1901–1927.

Newspaper page from The Lafayette Advertiser carrying the name Spell
The Lafayette Advertiser 1901-07-20
Newspaper page from The Lexington Advertiser carrying the name Spell
The Lexington Advertiser 1927-06-23
Newspaper page from The Lafayette Gazette carrying the name Spell
The Lafayette Gazette 1901-07-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 509 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Spell in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1980s.

911 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Spell. The most, 147, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 272
New South Wales 226
Queensland 177
South Australia 119
Western Australia 57
Tasmania 40
ACT (Canberra) 14

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

Who carried it

People named Spell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jefferson Rea Spell 1886–1967 · university teacher

Wikidata (CC0).

In the public record

People named Spell,
in the records of 5 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 States258 records

258 records of the Spell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 157
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 53
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 26
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 12
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 6
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 4
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ira L. Spell

    Born 1923 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg; textile mill worker. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1944, buried at Union Grove Bapt Ch Cemetery, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Anna Spell

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Torrent from Liverpool, aged 18; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Owen Spell

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1892, died 1951; buried at Bay Pines National Cemetery, Florida.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 258 records for Spell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia12 records

12 records of the Spell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Joseph H. Spell

    Arrived in Queensland in 1874 aboard the Darling Downs, aged 20.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Mary Spell

    Of Timor, Victoria; died 1915.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Sarah Louisa Spell

    Selected land at Brisbane, Queensland in 1900.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 12 records for Spell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Netherlands7 records

7 records of the Spell name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 3
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Maria Spell

    Died 1893 in Arnhem, aged 25.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Maarten Spell

    Died 1853 in Gouda, aged 61.

    Open Archives, Streekarchief Midden-Holland (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Elizabeth Spell

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1856 in Hoorn.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Spell in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Germany6 records

6 records of the Spell 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 Gustav Spell

    From Willenberg, Ortelsburg. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 1 April 1915 (Infantry Regiment No. 151).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Friedrich Spell

    From Bulmke, Gelsenkirchen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 30 December 1918 (Infantry Regiment No. 75).

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

Showing 2 of 6 records for Spell in Germany.

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).

France1 record

1 record of the Spell 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 Zelia Augusta Spell

    Born 1909 in Rouen (Seine-Maritime); died 1988 in Clichy (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Spell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Spell is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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