A French and Spanish surname, Fontell comes from the Latin term ‘fons’ referring to people or village near a water spring. Variations in spelling Fontell include Lafont, Fuente, Fontenelle, De la Font and Hont. The concentration of Fontell families has been in Sweden over the centuries. Most lived in the Gothenburg area. Neighboring Finland also had Fontell families living there. In the late 19th century several families immigrated to America settling in New York. Within the United States most of the Fontell families have settled in the state of New York. Others later moved to Arkansas, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Famous: Ernst Fontell (Chief of Police of Goteborg, Sweden during World War II and later Police Commissioner of Gothenburg).