|
|
Dictionary of
Family Names
|
Origin and Etymology of the Surname BALL.
|
|
From A Dictionary
of English and Welsh Surnames, by C. W. E. Bardsley, A. Bardsley, 1901.
|
|
BALL.
Bardsley has: (1) A baptismal name meaning "the son of Baldwin,"
from the nickname Bald. This was popularly Ball. The large
number of Balls in the London Directory is accounted for by the great favour in
which the name was held, and the constant influx from the Low Countries, where
for a time it ruled supreme. The d in some cases might be dropped
later on, on account of its suggesting baldness. We find Balcock in the
Hundred Rolls, -cock being the suffix usually appended to the nickname of
fontal names (v. Balcock).
(2) A nickname meaning "the bald"; v. Ballard.
The representatives of this sobriquet have also dropped the final d to
hide the truth. From
either (1) or (2) or both came a pet name given to various animals. Ball
is mentioned as the name of a horse in Chaucer and Tusser, of a sheep in the
Promptorium, and of a dog in the Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII (Halliwell). (3)
A local name meaning "at the Ball," a sign-name; cf. Bell,
Roebuck,
&c.
|
|
|
|
Reference
Materials
|
|
|
|
| Etymology
Dictionary Index |
| A, B,
C, D, E,
F, G, H,
I, J, K,
L, M, N,
O, P, Q,
R, S, T,
U, V, W,
X, Y, Z
|
|
| Family
Names Index |
| A,
B, C,
D, E,
F, G,
H, I,
J, K,
L, M,
N, O,
P, Q,
R, S,
T, U,
V, W,
X, Y,
Z
|
|
|
|
|
