An English surname, Blackwell comes from the Old English terms of ‘blaec’ and ’waell’ which meant dark and a stream. Variations in spelling for Blackwell include Blackwall, Platwill, Bleckville, Blakewell, Blackwel, Blaikewell and Bleckwell. In England many of the Blackwell families started in Derbyshire county. They spread to Warwickshire, Durham, Worcestershire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Essex and the city of London. In Wales there are Blackwell families in Flintshire. In Scotland the Blackwell name is found in Lanarkshire and Wigtownshire counties. Within the United States the Blackwell name is across half of the country. The states with the greater numbers include Georgia, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Indiana, New York, Virginia, North and South Carolina and into California. Famous: Chris Blackwell (founder of Island Records for music), Ewell Blackwell (professional baseball player), Otis Blackwell (song writer), Richard Blackwell (fashion critic), Paul Blackwell (actor from Australia), Thomas Blackwell (co-founder of Crosse & Blackwell, a 19th century food production company later bought by Nestle Co.).