Jewell
Usually an English surname from the medieval personal name Joel, though in some cases it may also reflect a nickname or ornamental use of “jewel.”
The #1,550 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,315 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is commonly explained as coming from the medieval given name Joel, with forms like Jewell used regionally as a spelling or pronunciation variant. The deeper root of Joel is Hebrew, meaning roughly “Yahweh is God.” Some later writers also connected the name with the word jewel, but the family-name evidence in the historical dictionaries more strongly points to a baptismal origin in many cases.
History
Bardsley treats Jewell as a baptismal surname and notes Yorkshire forms where Jewell stood for Joel. Barber lists many spelling variants alongside Yule and related names, showing how fluid medieval and early modern spellings could be. In some places, especially in older antiquarian commentary, it was also associated with mining or other local features, but that explanation is less secure than the Joel derivation.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Barber’s list of variants shows just how many ways the name could be written over time, including Yowell, Yewell, Jouel, Jowel, and Jewell.
From the historical record
“p.39- Jewell, JewslaOQ.— Bapt. 'the sonofjoel'; O.E. Juel and Jewel. V. Joel ; cf. Job and Jubb, Jordan and Jurden, Sic WsriD tl Jneli*, co. Devoo, Hen. Ilt-”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances