Origin
Val : 1: Spanish: variant of Valle from val a variant of valle ‘valley’. Compare Delval.2: Galician and Portuguese: topographic name for someone who lived in a valley val (compare 3 below). Compare also Doval.3: French and Haitian: topographic name for someone who lived in a valley (Old) French val (originally feminine later masculine; compare Vallee) from Latin vallis (feminine). Compare Duval and Laval.
Belval : French and Haitian: topographic name from French bel val ‘beautiful valley’ or a habitational name from (Le) Belval the name of several places in the northern part of France as for example in Ardennes Manche and Vosges and in Haiti.
De Valle : 1: Spanish: variant with the preposition de ‘from’ of Valle ‘valley’.2: French (Devalle): variant of Deval a topographic name with fused preposition de ‘from’ for someone who lived in a valley Old French val (from Latin vallis).
Delafield : 1: English (London and Devon) and Irish: of Anglo-Norman origin a habitational name probably for someone from Field in Leigh (Staffordshire) named with Old English feld ‘expanse of open land’. It was evidently known originally as ‘The Field’ whence the partly Anglo-Norman French rendering of the surname as de la Feld ‘of The Field’. In the 15th century in Ireland this surname was increasingly used in its shortened form Field but a branch of the family that had moved back to England in the 14th century retained the French prefix.2: English (North Yorkshire): in North Yorkshire the name seems to have a different origin from 1 above. It could be a nickname from Middle English dil(e) ‘dull stupid’ + Middle English ful foul ‘bird’ (wild or domestic) but the absence of evidence for a Middle English surname with this compound leaves the explanation uncertain. Alternatively it might be a name altered by folk etymology of Delavale the surname of an aristocratic family which from the 11th century held Callerton and Seaton Delaval (in Earsdon on the Northumberland border). The family came from La Val in Marne France and the surname itself is a variant of Laval with fused preposition de.
Delval : 1: French (Nord Pas-de-Calais Picardy) and Walloon: topographic name from French val ‘valley’ with fused preposition de ‘from’ and article le; or a habitational name for someone from Le Val names of several places in northern France and in Belgium (Wallonia).2: Spanish (Del Val): variant of Del Valle. Compare Val.
Dorval : 1: Breton and French: habitational name with fused French preposition d(e) ‘from’ for someone from either of two places called Orval (in Manche and Cher) the one in Manche recorded in Latin as Aurea Vallis ‘Golden Valley’ in 1100. In France this surname is by far most common in Finistère in Brittany.2: West Indian (mainly Haiti): nickname or ornamental name composed of French d'or ‘of gold’ and val ‘valley’. The surname may possibly also be of the same origin as 1 above.
Duval : 1: French Walloon Breton (of French origin) and Haitian: topographic name for someone ‘from the valley’ from (Old) French val ‘valley’ (see Val) with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’; or a habitational name for someone from Le Val the name of several places in various parts of France and in Belgium (Wallonia) named with this word. This surname is also established in the Dominican Republic. It is also found England where it is in part of Huguenot origin. Compare Devall Deville and Duvall.2: English: perhaps from a diminutive of the Old English female personal name Dūfe (see Dove 1).
Fahl : German: nickname for someone with a pale complexion or with very fair hair from Middle High German val ‘pale wan’. In some cases it may be a from a shortened form of any of various ancient Germanic compound names with Fahl as the first element.
Falb : German: nickname for someone with a pale complexion or fair hair from Middle High German valwe val ‘pale’. The word Falb(e) is used today only to denote the color of a horse.
Fall : 1: Scottish or Irish: shortened form of McFall.2: English: topographic name Middle English fal(le) ‘fall descent’ (from Old English (ge)feall or (ge)fall ‘felling of trees’ Old Norse fall ‘forest clearing’) denoting a waterfall steep slope or (in northern England) a forest clearing.3: German: topographic name from Middle High German val ‘fall (of trees)’ in some cases ‘waterfall’ or ‘landslide’; or a habitational name from a minor place called with this word or in Tyrol from Ladine val ‘valley’.4: West African (mainly Senegal also Mali Mauritania and Guinea): Tukulor name of unexplained etymology. It is also found among the Wolof and Soninke peoples.
Faller : South German:: 1: habitational name for someone from Ober- or Unter-Fall near Triberg in the Black Forest.2: topographic name for someone living by a waterfall or the site of a landslide from Middle High German val ‘fall waterfall landslide’.3: in some cases possibly also a derivative of Falter through assimilation of the consonants. This surname (in any of the possible senses; see also above) is also found in France (mainly Alsace also Lorraine).
Jarvis : 1: English (of Norman origin): from the Old French personal name Gervais(e) itself from ancient Germanic Gervas with gair ‘spear’ as the first element and an uncertain second perhaps a borrowing of Celtic wass- ‘servant vassal’. The Latinized name Gervasius was borne by a Christian saint martyred under the Roman Emperor Domitian who became one of the patrons of Milan.2: English: in Yorkshire sometimes a habitational name from Jervaulx in East Witton (North Yorkshire). The place takes its name from the river Ure + Old French val vals ‘valley’.3: Americanized form of French Gervais and of its variant Gervaise cognates of 1 above.
Jauncey : from Gency in Cergy Val d'Oise or Janzé Ille-et-Vilaine France.
Laval : French: topographic name for someone who lived in a valley Old French val (originally feminine later masculine; see Val compare Lavallee) or a habitational name from Laval the name of several places in various parts of France ultimately derived from Latin vallis ‘valley’.
Lavalette : 1: Altered form of French Laviolette.2: French: topographic name for someone who lived in a valley from a diminutive of Old French val ‘valley’ (see Val and Laval).
Militello : Italian (southern): habitational name from a place called Militello in Val di Catania in Catania or Militello Rosmarino in Messina named from a diminutive of Latin meletum formed from melus ‘apple tree’ + the suffix -etum indicating abundance.
Percival : English:: 1: from the Middle English and Old French personal name Perceval first found as the name of the hero of an epic poem by the 12th-century French poet Crestien de Troyes describing the quest for the holy grail. The origin of the name is uncertain; it may be associated with the Gaulish personal name Pritorīx or it may be an altered form of the Celtic name Peredur (see Priddy). It seems to have been altered as the result of folk etymological association with Old French perce(r) ‘to pierce or breach’ + val ‘valley’.2: (of Norman origin): habitational name from either of two places called Perceval in Calvados Normandy (France).
Pezzano : Italian:: 1: habitational name from Pezzano a district of San Cipriano Picentino in Salerno province.2: in northern Italy a habitational name for someone from any of various places called Pezzo for example in Val Camonica in Lombardy from an adjectival form of the placename.
Preval : French and Haitian (Préval): topographic name from pré (du) val ‘meadow of the valley’. This surname is very rare in France. It was brought to the US mainly from Haiti and also from Cuba and the Dominican Republic where it is of Haitian origin.
Recla : Italian: nickname from recla a dialect term of Val di Non (Non Valley) meaning ‘ear’; see Orecchio. In Italy the name occurs chiefly in Trentino-Alto Adige near the border with Austria.
Vahl : North German:: 1: nickname from Middle Low German vāl ‘pallid fair’.2: from the ancient Germanic personal name Falho a short form of a compound name formed with fal an ethnic name (the etymon of East- and Westphalia).
Valbrun : French and Haitian: topographic name composed of val ‘valley’ and brun ‘dark’. This surname is very rare in France. It was brought to the US from Haiti.
Valcarcel : Spanish Galician and Asturian-Leonese (Valcárcel): habitational name from any of the places in La Rioja province Galicia and Asturias called Valcárcel named in Galician or Old Spanish with val ‘valley’ + cárcel ‘prison’ (from Latin carcer) the second element being used in the transferred sense of a confined space i.e. a narrow gorge.
Valcourt : French and Haitian: topographic name for someone who lived in a small valley from French val court literally ‘short valley’; or perhaps a habitational name from any of several places called Valcourt in the northern part of France e.g. in Haute-Marne. This surname which is very rare in France (it is found mainly in Allier) is most common in Haiti. Compare Valcour.
Vale : 1: English: of Norman origin a topographic name for someone who lived ‘(in the) vale or valley’ (Middle English val(e) valle Old French val ‘valley’) or a habitational name for someone who came from one of the French places called with this word such as Le Val (Sarthe) or any number of places in and around Normandy called Vaux. Compare Vause.2: Irish: from Mac Pháil ‘son of Paul’.3: Irish: variant of Veale.4: Galician: topographic name from val ‘valley’ or a habitational name from any of the places so called in Galicia and Asturias. Compare Dovale.
Valler : 1: English (southern): topographic name denoting a dweller in a valley from an agent derivative of Middle English vale ‘valley’ (Old French val).2: German: variant of Faller. This surname is rare in Germany.
Vallet : 2: French: topographic name from a diminutive of Old French val ‘valley’ (see Val) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallet the name of several places mainly in the northern part of France.1: French and English: occupational name for a manservant from Old French and Middle English val(l)et ‘manservant groom’.
Valli : 1: Italian: patronymic or plural form of Valle or a habitational name from a place called with this word as for example Valli del Pasubio or Valli dei Signori.2: Italianized form of Slovenian Valič: patronymic from a short form of the personal name Valentin (see Valentine).3: Hungarian (Válli): habitational name for someone from Vál in Fehér County or Vály in Gömör County (now Valice in Slovakia).4: Finnish: habitational name from farms so named from valli ‘embankment lawn pasture’. Established as a hereditary surname in southwestern Finland and southern Ostrobothnia since the 19th century. Occasionally adopted also as an ornamental name. This standard Finnish variant is rare in the US where the surname is mostly spelled Walli.5: American shortened form (and Greek feminine form denoting ‘the daughter or wife of’) of Greek Vallis.
Vallie : 1: Americanized form of French Vallee.2: Americanized form of Hungarian Váli: habitational name for someone from Vál in Fejér County.
Vallin : 1: Asturian-Leonese (Vallín): habitational name from any of the places in Asturias (Spain) named Vallín from a diminutive of valle ‘valley’. Compare Ballin.2: Swedish: topographic or ornamental name from vall ‘grassy bank pasture’ (see Wall) or the root of Latin vallis ‘valley’ (representing Swedish dal) + the adjectival suffix -in a derivative of Latin -in(i)us ‘relating to’. The original humanistic form of the surname Vallinus is no longer found in Sweden. Compare Wallin.3: French: topographic name for someone who lived in a small valley from a diminutive of Old French val ‘valley’ (see Val) or a habitational name from a minor place so named in Isère.
Vallis : 1: Greek: status name from Greek valis ‘prefect’ Turkish vali ‘governor’.2: English: of Norman origin a habitational name from the old province of Valois in the Ile‐de‐France named with a derivative of Old French val ‘valley’.
Vallon : 1: French: topographic name for someone who lived in a small valley from a diminutive of Old French val (see Val) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallon the name of several places in various parts of France.2: Italian: variant of Vallone.
Vallot : French: topographic name for someone who lived in a small valley from a diminutive of Old French val (see Val) or a habitational name from (Le) Vallot the name of several places in the northern part of France.
Vause : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire):: 1: of Norman origin a habitational name from Vaux (see Vaux) a common French placename singular and plural of val ‘valley’ the plural form being Latinized in surnames as de Vallibus. Norman lords with this surname are recorded in 12th- and early 13th-century records in Cumberland (Irthington) Devon (Farwood in Colyton) East Yorkshire (Warter) Essex (Belchamp) and Leicestershire (Belvoir). Compare Vale.2: nickname perhaps from Middle English fals faus vaus (Old French fals faus Old English fals) ‘deceitful disloyal dishonest mendacious’ but it is more likely the name arises from 1 with the common Anglo-Norman French substitution of le for de in their surname.
Vaux : English (of Norman origin) and French: habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’. Compare English Vause and French Devaux.
Wahl : 1: German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German Walhe Walch ‘foreigner from a Romance country’ hence a nickname for someone from Italy or France etc. This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine) Sweden and Denmark.2: North German: from the personal name Wole a short form of Wol(d)er (see Wahler).3: Norwegian: habitational name from any of several farmsteads named Val from Old Norse vathill ‘ford’ denoting shallow water for example in a bay or strait.
Waldie : Scottish: from the Older Scots personal name Wal(d)ef from the Middle English personal name Walthef Waldef Walthew Wallef (Old English Wælthēof an Anglicized form of Old Norse Valthiófr) composed of the elements val ‘battle’ + thiofr ‘thief’ i.e. one who snatched victory out of defeat in battle. Compare English Walthall.
Walthall : English (Derbyshire and Cheshire): variant of Walthew from the Middle English personal name Walthef Waldef Walthew Wallef (Old English Wælthēof) an Anglicized form of Old Norse Valthiófr composed of the elements val ‘battle’ + thiofr ‘thief’ i.e. one who snatched victory out of defeat in battle. The personal name is mostly recorded in northern England and the North Midlands. For the name in Scotland see Waldie.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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