Ball (surname)

Ball is a surname of English/German Jewish origin. First mention of the name appeared in Cheshire.

This surname has multiple potential origins, as do quite a few other short surnames:

one origin relates to body type and arose as a nickname, originally from Middle English^[1]
likewise, another origin relates to baldness, again arising as a nickname^[1]
another purported origin is related to living near a "knoll or rounded hill"^[1]
the surname may also descend from the Old Norse personal name "Balle"^[1]
it could be a toponymic surname, related to Ball, Cornwall, England^[2]

A multiplicity of origins for this surname is also supported by genetic analysis.^[3]

In the United Kingdom, according to a study based on data available from Experian, the surname declined in use by 55% between 1881 and 2008, possibly though not certainly due to negative connotation elicited by the surname.^[4]

List of people with the surname

Arts and music

Alan Ball (screenwriter) (born 1957)
Angeline Ball, actor
Ashleigh Ball (voice actress) (born 1983), Canadian voice actor and musician
Christopher Ball, British composer
Dave Ball (musician) (born 1950), English guitarist
David Ball (musician) (born 1959), English electronic musician (usually known as Dave)
David Ball (country musician) (born 1953), American country musician
Ed Ball (musician) (living), English singer-songwriter, musician and businessman
Estil C. Ball, American folk musician
Johnny Ball (born 1938), English television personality
Kenny Ball (1930–2013), English jazz musician
Lucille Ball (1911–1989), American comedian and actor
Marcia Ball (born 1949), American blues singer and pianist
Martin Ball, actor
Michael Ball (singer) (born 1962), English actor and singer
Roger Ball (designer), industrial designer
Nicholas Ball (actor) (born 1946), English actor
Samuel Ball (actor), American actor
Sonja Ball (born 1956), Canadian voice actor
Thomas Ball (artist) (1819–1911), American sculptor
Walter Ball (cartoonist) (1911–1995)
Wilfrid Ball (1853–1917), British painter
William Ball (stage director), American stage director (1931–1991)
Zoë Ball (born 1970), English radio and television personality

Business

Edmund Ball (1855–1925), American entrepreneur, one of the Ball Brothers
Edward Ball (businessman) (1888–1981), American businessman and political figure
Ernie Ball (1930–2004), American entrepreneur, musician, and guitar innovator
Frank Ball (1857–1943), American entrepreneur, one of the Ball Brothers
Harvey Ball (1921–2001), American entrepreneur; earliest known designer of the Smiley

Military

Albert Ball (1896–1917), English World War I fighter pilot; recipient of the Victoria Cross
Alexander Ball (c. 1756 – 1809), English admiral of the Royal Navy and Governor of Malta
Henry Lidgbird Ball (1756–1818), British Royal Navy officer who discovered and explored Lord Howe Island
William L. Ball III, United States Secretary of the Navy

Politics, law, and diplomacy

Bartholomew Ball (died 1573), Mayor of Dublin 1553-1554
Edward Ball (congressman) (1811–1872), American national politician
Gregory R. Ball (born 1977), American state politician
John Ball (pioneer) (1794–1884), American pioneer and state politician
Joseph H. Ball (1905–1993), American journalist and national politician
L. Heisler Ball (1861–1932), American physician and national politician
Mottrom D. Ball (1835–1887), American government official
Nicholas Ball (Alderman) (died 1609), Mayor of Dublin 1582–1583
Nicholas Ball (Irish lawyer) (died 1865), Irish barrister
Robert James Ball, British M.P.
Thomas Henry Ball (1859–1944), American national politician
Thomas R. Ball (1896–1943), U.S. Representative from Connecticut
Walter Ball (Alderman) (died 1598), Mayor of Dublin 1580-1581
William Lee Ball, Virginia congressman
William Macmahon Ball (1901–1986), Australian academic and diplomat

Religion

David Standish Ball (born 1926), American Episcopal bishop
John Ball (priest) (died 1381), English Lollard priest; prominent figure in the Peasants' Revolt
Margaret Ball (1515–1584), beatified by the Roman Catholic Church as martyr of the faith
Michael Ball (bishop) (born 1932), English Anglican clergyman; former Bishop of Truro
Peter Ball (bishop) (born 1932), disgraced former Bishop of Lewes and twin brother of Michael Ball

Sciences and mathematics

Benjamin Ball (physician) (1833–1893), English-born French psychiatrist
Elmer Darwin Ball (1870–1943), American entomologist
John M. Ball (born 1948), British mathematician
John Ball (naturalist) (1818–1889), Irish politician, naturalist and Alpine traveller
Keith Martin Ball (born 1960), English mathematician
Leo Anton Karl de Ball (1853–1916), German-Austrian astronomer
Loren C. Ball, American astronomer
Mary Ball (1812–1892), Irish naturalist and entomologist
Robert Stawell Ball (1840-1913), astronomer
Webb C. Ball (1847–1922), American railroad engineer who established the first rules for railroad chronometers
William Ball (astronomer) (or Balle), British astronomer; founder Fellow of the Royal Society

Sports

Alan Ball, Jr. (1945–2007), English professional footballer and football club manager
Alan Ball, Sr. (1924–1982), English professional footballer and football club manager
Alan Ball (American football) (born 1985)
Arnie Ball (born 1944), American volleyball coach
Ashleigh Ball (field hockey) (born 1986), English field hockey player
Bobby Ball (auto racer) (1925–1954), American racecar driver
Carsten Ball (born 1987), Australian tennis player
Catie Ball, American Olympic swimmer
Dave Ball (defensive end) (born 1981), American professional football player
David Ball (wide receiver) (born 1984), American professional football player
Eric Ball (American football) (born 1966), American football player
Jeff Ball (baseball), baseball player
John Ball (golfer) (1861–1940), English amateur golfer
John Ball (soccer) (born 1972), American professional soccer player
Kevin Ball, soccer player
Lloy Ball (born 1972), American volleyball player
Lonzo Ball (born 1997), American basketball player
Luke Ball (born 1984), Australian rules footballer
Michael Ball (footballer) (born 1979), English professional footballer
Montee Ball (born 1990), American professional football player
Neal Ball, baseball player
Reggie Ball (born 1984), American professional football player
Rudi Ball (1910–1975), only athlete of Jewish descent to represent Germany in the 1936 Winter Olympic Games
Sam Ball, NFL lineman
Walter Ball (baseball player) (1877–1946), Negro League baseball player
William Ball (footballer), English footballer (1886–1942)

Writing and education

Catherine Ball, known as the Baroness de Calabrella (c. 1788–1856), British writer and newspaper owner
Clifford Ball, author
Donna Ball, writer
Edward Ball (American author) (born 1958)
Hugo Ball (1886–1927), German author and poet
John Ball (American author) (1911–1988)
John Ball (Puritan) (1585–1640), English author and educator
Phil Ball (writer) (born 1957), British writer and educator
Samuel Ball (educator) (1935–2009), Australian education researcher

Other

Edward Hughes Ball (1798–1863), later Edward Hughes Ball Hughes or "The Golden Ball", British dandy
Mary Ball Washington (1706–1789) mother of George Washington
Ron Ball, British Police and Crime Commissioner

Notes

1 2 3 4 "Last Name: Ball", Internet Surname Database, Name Origin Research, retrieved 21 Dec 2011
↑ Seary, E; Kirwin, William; Lynch Sheila MP, Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, p. 20, ISBN 9780773517820 – via Google Books
↑ Perkins, Steven C.; Ball, Mike (16 Jun 2006), "Ball Surname Y Chromosome DNA Study", RootsWeb, retrieved 21 Dec 2011
↑ Garth, John (25 March 2009), "R.I.P. Smellie, Bottom and Balls - the surnames that are dying of embarrassment", Mail Online, United Kingdom: Associated Newspapers, retrieved 22 Dec 2011