Ball Family History

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Ball Name Meaning

English: nickname for a short, fat person, from Middle English bal(le) ‘ball’ (Old English ball, Old Norse b{o,}llr). English: topographic name for someone who lived on or by a knoll or rounded hill, from the same Middle English word, bal(le), used in this sense. English: from the Old Norse personal name Balle, derived either from ballr ‘dangerous’ or b{o,}llr ‘ball’. South German: from Middle High German bal ‘ball’, possibly applied as a metonymic occupational name for a juggler, or a habitational name from a place so named in the Rhine area. Dutch and German: short form of any of various Germanic personal names formed with the element bald (see Bald).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Bell, Wall, Bald, Hall, Fall, Bill, Balle, Boll, Bahl, Call

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Ball Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Ball name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Ball. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    53%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    19%

  • Germanic Europe

    7%

  • Eastern Europe & Russia

    3%

  • Norway

    3%

Your own DNA-based ethnicity estimate will differ from what you see here. To get your personalized ethnicity estimate, order an AncestryDNA® kit.order an AncestryDNA® kit.

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Ball Family Origin

Where is the Ball family from?

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You can see how Ball families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Ball family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Ball families were found in the UK in 1891. In 1911 there were 1,712 Ball families living in Ontario. This was about 59% of all the recorded Ball's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Ball families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Ball surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Ball

Ball Family Occupations

What did your Ball ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, a less common occupation for the Ball family was Laborer. Farmer, School and Carpenter were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Ball. The most common Ball occupation in Canada was Farmer. 36% of Ball's were Farmers.

View Census data for Ball | Data not to scale

  • Farmer

    36%

  • School

    6%

  • Carpenter

    3%

  • Laborer

    2%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Ball ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Ball Historical Records

What Ball family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 880,000 census records available for the last name Ball. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Ball census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1881 Canadian census records for Ball

Passenger List

There are 74,000 immigration records available for the last name Ball. 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.

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Draft Card

There are 170,000 military records available for the last name Ball. For the veterans among your Ball ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Ball military records

You've only scratched the surface of Ball family history.

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Ball Life Expectancy

What is the average Ball lifespan?

Between 1941 and 2004, in the United States, Ball life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1943, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Ball in 1941 was 33, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Ball

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Ball ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Ball Family Ancestors

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