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Whale Family History

Whale Name Meaning

English:: nickname from Middle English whal hwal wale ‘whale’ (Old English hwæl) a term that was used to denote any large fish or marine mammal including the walrus grampus and porpoise. The nickname may refer to a rolling gait or to size and weight. variant of Wale or Wall . habitational name from Whale in Lowther (Cumbria). The placename is from Old Norse hváll meaning ‘isolated hill’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Wale, Hale, Whaley, Hase, Halse, Hall, Wall, Shaler, Wald, Whall

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Whale family from?

You can see how Whale families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Whale family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Whale families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 81 Whale families living in Ontario. This was about 74% of all the recorded Whale's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Whale families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Whale surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Whale ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Whale. 53% of Whale men worked as a Farmer and 67% of Whale women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Whale were Butcher and Clerk. .

View Census Data for Whale | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    53%
  • Engineer
    10%
  • Salesman
    10%
  • Butcher
    10%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Housekeeper
    67%
  • Clerk
    34%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Whale family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 43,000 census records available for the last name Whale. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Whale census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Whale

Passenger Lists

There are 2,000 immigration records available for the last name Whale. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Whale immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 2,000 military records available for the last name Whale. For the veterans among your Whale ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Whale military records

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What is the average Whale lifespan?

Between 1963 and 2004, in the United States, Whale life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1999, and highest in 1965. The average life expectancy for Whale in 1963 was 75, and 88 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Whale

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