O'Dell is an English surname originating from the village Odell in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Folk etymology gave it a misleading Irish O'Dell spelling. Some families anglicized their name over time. Notable people with the surname include (''in alphabetical order''): * Billy O'Dell (1933–2018), American baseball player * Cricket O'Dell, fictional character from ''Archie Comics'' * Diane O'Dell (born 1953), American serial killer * Jack O'Dell (1923–2019), American civil rights activist *

Kenny O'Dell Kenneth Guy Gist Jr. (June 21, 1944 – March 27, 2018), known as Kenny O'Dell, was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for writing the number-one country hits " Behind Closed Doors" (recorded by Charlie Rich, 1973) and " ...

(1944–2018), American country music singer and songwriter *

Nancy O'Dell Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; February 25, 1966) is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show ''Entertainment Tonight'' from January 3, 2011, to Augus ...

(born 1966), American television host and entertainment journalist *

Patrick O'Dell Patrick O'Dell is an American photographer, filmmaker, skateboarder, and skateboard journalist from Columbus, Ohio. Career Epicly Later'd In 2004 O'Dell started ''Epicly Later’d,'' one of the first skate-related blogs. ''Epicly Later'd'' e ...

(born 1938), American award-winning cinematographer for CBS News * Rick O'Dell (born 1948), American racing driver *

Scott O'Dell Scott O'Dell (May 23, 1898 – October 15, 1989) was an American people, American writer of 26 novels for young people, along with three novels for adults and four nonfiction books. He wrote historical fiction, primarily, including several chi ...

(1898–1989), American children's author * Tom O'Dell (born 1990), American television host *

Tony O'Dell Tony O'Dell (born Anthony Dell'Aquila; January 30, 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Cobra Kai member Jimmy in the 1984 film ''The Karate Kid,'' and the second season of its spinoff ''Cobra Kai'', and as preppy Alan Pin ...

(born 1960), American actor * Walden O'Dell (active since 2003), American businessman

See also