Bell (surname) of "Isobel". In some cases, the surname originates from a nickname, or descriptive name, derived from the Old French "bel" ("beautiful", "fair"). In other cases, the surname "Bell" represents an English form of the Gaelic surname "Mac Giolla Mhaoil" ("son of the servant of the devotee"). In some cases, the surname is derived from placenames in Norway (Bell) and Germany (Bell in Rhineland; and possibly Belle, in Westphalia). The surname Bell is also sometimes an Anglicized form of the German "Böhl" or "Böll". Early attested forms of the surname when of a patronymic origin include: Ailuuardus ""filius Belli"", in 1086;
Mac and Mc together in print two publications on filing rules, one covering that "word-by-word" convention, and another prepared in 1980 that is "letter-by-letter". A 1998 book attributes the changes to the rules to computer informatics, and notes the Mac/Mc change as its first example. 1982's "Scottish Roots", a guide for family history researchers, warns that older Scottish records do not in fact follow this convention, unlike contemporary telephone directories. A 2001 book of "New York Times" theatre reviews sorts Mc names as if spelled Mac. A 2002 official document for the State of Vermont recommends explicitly no special treatment for Mac and Mc.