Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Ball (surname)

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

Contents

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
  • likewise, another origin relates to baldness, again arising as a nickname
  • another purported origin is related to living near a "knoll or rounded hill"
  • the surname may also descend from the Old Norse personal name "Balle"
  • it could be a toponymic surname, related to Ball, Cornwall, England
  • A multiplicity of origins for this surname is also supported by genetic analysis.

    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.

    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
  • Martin J. Ball, academic
  • 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
  • LaMelo Ball (born 2001), American basketball player
  • LiAngelo Ball (born 1998), American basketball 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
  • References

    Ball (surname) Wikipedia