The English surname Halliwell, usually found in northern English  in the area around Lancashire, is of  habitational origin, meaning the original bearer was named after the place that they lived. In the case of Halliwell the name is derived from a place near Manchester called Halliwell, from Old English halig  meaning “holy” and  well meaning “a ‘well or a spring.” There are also other towns with similar names in Lancashire such as hollowell and also towns called Holwell in Dorset and Oxfordshire. The first written reference to the name is in Lancashire in the Domesday Book in 1086.