The Families Belle · 3:22am Feb 14th, 2022
So I just had a random thought that would explain why Sugar Belle and Sweetie Belle aren't related: like The Lord of the Rings, MLP is a translation of source material written in another language (this would also help explain the discrepancies in how many words are in a pony's name; Sassaflash and Lyra Heartstrings are the same number of words in the source Equestrian, not the translation). However, just like in LotR, some Equestrian words have proven untranslatable, requiring the writers to give them to us as written.
One of those words, I propose, is Belle. I hypothesize that Belle, in Equestrian, is usually a suffix, denoting a (typically female) serving role - in other words, a maid. Much like, in English, there is a word, usually used as a suffix, that denotes a (typically male) craftsman role.
In other words, a smith.
Thus, in Equestria, Belle would be the equivalent of Smith on Earth.
Huh. Yeah, that works. The masculine might even be "Bell," referring to what is rung to summon a servant.
Interesting