Wells is an English surname and place name meaning "springs" or "of the wells", given to a family that lived near a natural spring; the cathedral city of Wells in Somerset bears the same name. It belongs to the new wave of crisp surname-style names like Brooks and Banks, and literary parents may think of author H. G. Wells. Wells entered the US top 1000 in 2017 and has risen every year since, to number 347 in 2025, its best rank so far.