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Ball Family History

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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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Ball family from?

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.
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What did your Ball ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Income were the top reported jobs for men and women in the CA named Ball. 32% of Ball men worked as a Farmer and 11% of Ball women worked as an Income. Some less common occupations for Americans named Ball were Carpenter and Housekeeper.

View Census data for Ball | 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
    32%
  • Labourer
    10%
  • Laborer
    7%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations in 1921

  • Income
    11%
  • Stenographer
    9%
  • Nurse
    9%
  • Housekeeper
    9%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Ball family records will you find?

Census Records

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 Canadian census records for Ball

Passenger Lists

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.

View all Ball immigration records

Draft Cards

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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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

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