Wale Family History
Wale Surname Meaning
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. 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’.
English: topographic name for someone who lived near an embankment from Middle English wale ‘ridge, bank’ (Old English walu). 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’. 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.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022