What was the Liberty Bell called before it acquired its famous name?

Before it was called the Liberty Bell, Philadelphia’s famous bell was known as the State House Bell.

The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly for the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House, the building now known as Independence Hall. Its inscription came from the biblical Book of Leviticus and called for liberty throughout the land. The bell cracked soon after arriving and was recast twice by Philadelphia founders John Pass and John Stow.

The name “Liberty Bell” did not become standard during the American Revolution. Abolitionist groups helped popularize it in the 1830s, when the bell became a symbol of liberty and opposition to slavery.

A common legend says the bell rang immediately after Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776. There is no contemporary evidence for that story. It may have rung during public readings on July 8, but historians cannot prove that it did.