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 A 2007 book in its tenth edition states that "most library catalogs" sort Mac and Mc names as if spelled M-a-c. Among the guides which generally recommend separating Mac and Mc so that names will be sorted as they are spelled are ISO 999, The Chicago Manual of Style, "Butcher's Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders", "The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage", and "The SBL Handbook of Style". Mac and Mc together A convention of sorting names with the Scottish and Irish patronymic prefixes Mac and Mc together persists in library science and archival