indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Meaning & History
Of Norman origin: habitational name from any of the various places in northern France, such as Belleu (Aisne), named in Old French with bel ‘beautiful’ + l(i)eu ‘place’, or from Belleau (Meurthe-et-Moselle), which is named with Old French bel ‘lovely’ + ewe ‘water’ (Latin aqua), or from Bellou (Calvados), which is probably named with a Gaulish word meaning ‘watercress’. Compare French Beaulieu.