“That Rings a Bell” Means It Seems Familiar

When you hear a name and say, “That rings a bell”, no bell is literally sounding. You mean that the name seems familiar. Some detail has stirred a vague memory, but you cannot yet say exactly where you saw or heard it.

“Do you know Elena Park?” “The name rings a bell, but I can’t remember where we met.” This is weaker than saying “I remember her”, because the feeling of familiarity has not become a complete recollection. If nothing seems familiar, you can say, “It doesn’t ring a bell.” The expression is natural in everyday Australian English, though it is not uniquely Australian.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ring-a-bell
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ring-a-bell