Explore the Family Name Wale

The meaning of Wale

1. English (of Norman origin): from the Anglo-Norman French personal name Wale, ancient Germanic Walo (Old French Gal, Galon, a source of Gale and Gallon), from an ancient Germanic personal name Walo, either a byname meaning ‘foreigner’ (see Wallace), or else a short form of various compound names with this first element. 2. English: nickname for a well-liked person, from Middle English wale ‘goodly, noble, excellent’ (originally meaning ‘choice’), or a nickname from Middle English wale (Old English wealh) ‘foreigner, Welshman’. 3. English: topographic name for someone who lived near an embankment, from Middle English wale ‘ridge, bank’ (Old English walu). 4. English: variant of Whale or Wheal, the latter of which is either a nickname from Middle English wel ‘happy, prosperous’; a topographic name for someone who lived near a deep pool (from Middle English wele, Old English wǣl, wēl ‘pool’), or who came from a place so called, such as Weel in East Yorkshire; a topographic or occupational name for someone who lived near or was in charge of a water‐wheel (Middle English whel, from Old English hwēol ‘wheel’); or a nickname from Middle English wevel (Old English wifel) ‘malt weevil’. 5. Ethiopian: from the personal name Wale, which is interpreted as ‘he spent the day’ in the Amharic language. — Note: Since Ethiopians do not have hereditary surnames, this name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.