Family name origins & meanings
- Polish : nickname for a tall, upright man, from belka ‘beam’, ‘timber’.
- Czech (Bělka) and Slovak (also Bielka) : from a pet form of the female personal name Běla meaning ‘white’, or, in some cases, possibly a nickname from bělka ‘squirrel’.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic) : from a pet form of the Yiddish female personal name Beyle meaning ‘beautiful’ (related to French belle).