WALL Surname Meaning and Origin

The Wall surname has several possible meanings:

1. a topographical surname often originally bestowed on someone who dwelled at or near a stone wall, from the Old English weall, and Latin vallum meaning "wall" or "rampart." Often this was a wall built to fortify a town or a sea wall. The Wall surname was also sometimes an occupational name given to a special kind of mason; a "wall" was one who specialized in building wall structures. This same meaning also has origins in Germany, from the middle high German wal.
2. A topographical surname for someone who lived by a spring, from the northern Middle English walle, and Old English wælla, meaning "well."
3. In Germany the surname could indicate someone who lived near a wall, from the middle high German wal, or be a variant of the last name Wahl, meaning "election" or "choice."
4. In Ireland, Wall may have originally been de Valle (Gaelic de Bhál), meaning "of the valley."
5. Wall could also have Swedish origins, from vall, meaning "pasture" or "grazing ground."

Surname Origin: English, Scottish, Swedish, German, Irish

Alternate Surname Spellings: WALLS, WALE, WALES, WAHL, WALLENBERG, WAHLBERG See also WALLER.

Where in the World Is the WALL Surname Found?

The Wall surname is found most commonly in Ireland, according to WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially in the East and South East regions. It is also fairly prevalent in the West Midlands region of England, as well as Sweden, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Forebears has the Wall last name as almost evenly common in both Ireland and Sweden. The Wall surname is fairly evenly distributed across the United States, but is especially common in North Carolina where it ranks #159.

Famous People with the Last Name WALL

• Max Wall - English comedian and actor
• Garret D. Wall - New Jersey military officer and politician
• William Guy Wall - American painter of Irish birth
• Art Wall - PGA golf champion of the 1950s
• Lucille Wall - American actress
• John Wall - English Catholic Franciscan friar; martyr

Genealogy Resources for the Surname WALL

Wall/Walls DNA Project
Join over 220 researchers with the Wall surname or its variants interested in working together to combine Y-DNA testing with traditional genealogy research to sort out Wall ancestors around the world.

10 Top Databases for British Genealogy
Millions of records from England, Scotland and Wales are available online in the form of digital images or transcriptions. These ten websites are a great starting point for anyone researching British ancestry.

Wall Family Crest - It's Not What You Think
Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Wall family crest or coat of arms for the Wall surname. Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. 

Wall Family Genealogy Forum
Search this popular genealogy forum for the Wall surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Wall query.

FamilySearch - WALL Genealogy
Explore over 3.2 million historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Wall surname and its variations on the free FamilySearch website, hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

WALL Surname & Family Mailing Lists
RootsWeb hosts a free mailing list for researchers of the Wall surname around the world.

DistantCousin.com - WALL Genealogy & Family History
Explore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Wall.

The Wall Genealogy and Family Tree Page
Browse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Wall last name from the website of Genealogy Today.

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References: Surname Meanings & Origins

Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.

Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005.

Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004.

Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.

Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.