Whale is an English surname of unclear origin; however, it could be a derivation of Walh, a word generally used by Anglo-Saxon colonists to refer to native Britons, Romans or Celts after the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England. The Avebury stone circle, in Wiltshire, itself was referred to as waledich in the 13th century, a name still in use, as walldich, as late as 1696. Waledich literally means 'ditch of the wealas'.[1]
According to the 1841 census of England, there are three main pockets of the surname; Avebury in Wiltshire, Southampton in Hampshire, and Dudley, then in Worcestershire.
Notable people with the surname include:
- George Whale (1842–1910), English locomotive engineer
- James Whale (1889–1957), English film director, theatre director and actor
- James Whale (radio) (born 1951), English broadcaster for radio and television
- Robert R. Whale (1805–1887), English/Canadian painter
See also
References
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