NameCensus.

UK surname

Gall

A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived in Gaul or was descended from the Gauls.

In the 1881 census there were 1,946 people recorded with the Gall surname, ranking it #2,249 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,996, ranked #3,231, down from #2,249 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, London parishes and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Broughty Ferry West, North Speyside and Longside and Rattray.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Gall is 2,276 in 1901. Compared with 1881, the name has stayed broadly stable by 2.6%.

1881 census count

1,946

Ranked #2,249

Modern count

1,996

2016, ranked #3,231

Peak year

1901

2,276 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Gall had 1,946 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,249 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,996 in 2016, ranked #3,231.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,276 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Gall surname distribution map

The map shows where the Gall surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Gall surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Gall over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 1,537 #1,862
1861 historical 1,646 #1,737
1881 historical 1,946 #2,249
1891 historical 2,204 #2,122
1901 historical 2,276 #2,388
1911 historical 900 #4,953
1997 modern 1,889 #3,192
1998 modern 1,960 #3,205
1999 modern 1,949 #3,249
2000 modern 1,920 #3,275
2001 modern 1,866 #3,294
2002 modern 1,898 #3,315
2003 modern 1,862 #3,290
2004 modern 1,896 #3,246
2005 modern 1,892 #3,222
2006 modern 1,898 #3,238
2007 modern 1,890 #3,270
2008 modern 1,916 #3,252
2009 modern 1,947 #3,290
2010 modern 1,968 #3,316
2011 modern 1,956 #3,296
2012 modern 1,925 #3,291
2013 modern 1,985 #3,260
2014 modern 1,995 #3,265
2015 modern 1,992 #3,251
2016 modern 1,996 #3,231

Geography

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Where Galls are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, London parishes, Edinburgh, Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry and Fyvie. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Broughty Ferry West, North Speyside, Longside and Rattray, Carnoustie East and Arbroath Cliffburn. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Govan Combination Lanark
2 London parishes London 3
3 Edinburgh Edinburgh
4 Dundee, Liff, Benvie and Invergowry Forfar
5 Fyvie Aberdeen

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Broughty Ferry West Dundee City
2 North Speyside Moray
3 Longside and Rattray Aberdeenshire
4 Carnoustie East Angus
5 Arbroath Cliffburn Angus

Forenames

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First names often paired with Gall

These lists show first names that appear often with the Gall surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Gall

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Gall, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Gall surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Gall household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Gall is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Gall is most concentrated in decile 1 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the less healthy end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

1
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Gall falls in decile 7 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

7
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Gall is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Gall, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Gall

The surname Gall originated in England and Scotland. It is derived from the Old English word "galla" meaning "bitter" or "pungent taste". This referred to the taste of the plant known as the gall or oak apple, which was used for dyeing and ink-making in medieval times.

The name Gall first appeared in records in the 12th century. It was found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191 as Galle. Other early spellings included Gal, Galle, and Gall.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was William Gall, who was mentioned in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. The Gall family had landholdings in Ayrshire, Scotland, dating back to at least the 15th century.

The name Gall is also found in connection with several place names in Scotland and northern England, such as Galloway in southwestern Scotland, which likely derives from the Brittonic word "gall" meaning "stranger" or "foreigner".

Notable people with the surname Gall throughout history include Richard Gall (c. 1350-1417), a Scottish clergyman who served as Bishop of Glasgow; Franz Gall (1758-1828), a German neuroanatomist and founder of phrenology; Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828), an Austrian novelist and dramatist; and René Gall (1919-1992), a French boxer who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics.

The Gall surname has also been associated with the Gall-Peters projection, a cartographic projection conceived by Arno Peters (1916-2002), a German historian and cartographer. This map projection aimed to represent the relative sizes of countries and continents more accurately than traditional projections like the Mercator projection.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Gall families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Gall surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Aberdeenshire leads with 425 Galls recorded in 1881 and an index of 24.35x.

County Total Index
Aberdeenshire 425 24.35x
Angus 258 14.78x
Lanarkshire 257 4.22x
Middlesex 99 0.53x
Lancashire 69 0.31x
Norfolk 69 2.38x
Yorkshire 68 0.36x
Midlothian 65 2.57x
Northumberland 43 1.53x
Perthshire 43 5.08x
Clackmannanshire 34 21.84x
Banffshire 33 8.44x
Suffolk 32 1.39x
Surrey 29 0.32x
Lincolnshire 28 0.93x
Cornwall 27 1.27x
Cambridgeshire 25 2.09x
Essex 25 0.67x
Kincardineshire 22 9.59x
Ayrshire 20 1.42x
Durham 18 0.32x
Cheshire 17 0.41x
Dumfriesshire 13 3.12x
Monmouthshire 13 0.95x
Stirlingshire 13 1.87x
Kent 11 0.17x
Renfrewshire 11 0.75x
Glamorgan 10 0.30x
Hertfordshire 10 0.77x
Nottinghamshire 10 0.39x
Warwickshire 10 0.21x
Morayshire 9 3.07x
Peeblesshire 9 10.15x
Fife 8 0.72x
Northamptonshire 8 0.45x
Roxburghshire 8 2.34x
Berkshire 7 0.49x
Inverness-shire 7 1.24x
West Lothian 7 2.47x
Hampshire 6 0.16x
Sussex 6 0.19x
Cumberland 5 0.31x
Gloucestershire 5 0.14x
Pembrokeshire 5 0.83x
Selkirkshire 5 2.93x
Leicestershire 4 0.19x
Somerset 4 0.13x
Buteshire 3 2.63x
Devon 3 0.08x
Dunbartonshire 3 0.59x
Ross-shire 3 0.58x
Dorset 2 0.16x
East Lothian 2 0.80x
Oxfordshire 2 0.17x
Worcestershire 2 0.08x
Staffordshire 1 0.02x
Wiltshire 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Monifieth in Angus leads with 99 Galls recorded in 1881 and an index of 160.53x.

Place Total Index
Monifieth 99 160.53x
Govan 88 5.84x
Dundee 51 7.82x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 50 15.31x
Aberdeen Old Machar 49 13.45x
Aberdour 39 283.64x
Barony 35 2.27x
Alloa 33 43.72x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 27 2.66x
Lesmahagow 27 41.89x
Fyvie 26 91.29x
Lonmay 24 151.52x
Cruden 23 102.31x
Douglas 23 130.91x
St Pancras London 23 1.52x
Kensington London 22 2.10x
Peterhead 20 21.67x
Glasgow 17 1.57x
Perth East Church 17 21.32x
Uny Lelant 16 138.77x
Lowestoft 15 13.83x
St Fergus 15 151.82x
Kirriemuir 14 32.50x
New Deer 14 44.30x
Old Deer 14 42.32x
Elswick 13 5.81x
Halifax 13 4.74x
Inverurie 13 65.86x
Liff Benvie 13 4.90x
Little Shelford 13 390.39x
Old Monkland 13 5.37x
Skene 13 112.36x
Turriff 13 46.15x
Inverarity 12 213.90x
Longside 12 57.58x
Woodbridge 12 40.89x
Camberwell 11 0.91x
Islington London 11 0.60x
St Vigeans 11 11.67x
Edinburgh St Georges 10 19.08x
Foveran 10 75.70x
Hammersmith London 10 2.15x
King Edward 10 49.73x
Newhills 10 27.98x
Perth West Church 10 24.91x
Stockton On Tees 10 3.70x
Abroath St Vigeans 9 125.52x
Hockham 9 273.56x
Leeds 9 0.85x
Newtyle 9 152.03x
Oldham 9 1.25x
St Woollos 9 5.92x
Warrington 9 3.39x
Auchterless 8 57.72x
Bedlington 8 8.54x
Bothwell 8 4.84x
Cluny 8 95.35x
Crumpsall 8 15.18x
Eastwood 8 35.23x
Edinburgh Old Church 8 39.47x
Ellon 8 33.33x
Gamrie 8 18.33x
Glenmuick Tullich 8 63.59x
Kennethmont 8 123.46x
Kinneff Catterline 8 123.84x
New Machar 8 81.55x
South Leith 8 2.82x
Tealby 8 189.13x
Alverthorpe Cum Thornes 7 10.32x
Arminghall 7 909.09x
Ecclesall Bierlow 7 1.84x
Embleton 7 117.06x
Hitchin 7 11.94x
Llandaff 7 6.41x
Morton 7 50.65x
Putney 7 8.15x
Sorn 7 25.26x
Springfield 7 42.94x
Tottington Lower End 7 6.59x
West Derby 7 1.07x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Gall surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 44
Elizabeth 26
Sarah 21
Jane 16
Eliza 14
Ann 12
Emma 11
Alice 10
Annie 10
Ellen 9
Emily 9
Martha 8
Margaret 7
Hannah 6
Edith 5
Ada 4
Caroline 4
Fanny 4
Isabella 4
Sophia 4
Susannah 4
Agnes 3
Anne 3
Bessie 3
Helen 3
Julia 3
Kate 3
Louisa 3
Maria 3
Matilda 3
Minnie 3
Rosa 3
Anna 2
Catherine 2
Charlotte 2
Clara 2
Elizth. 2
Florance 2
Jessie 2
Laura 2
Lilly 2
Selina 2
Betsey 1
Betsy 1
Blanche 1
Effie 1
Elizth.A. 1
Harriett 1
Hen...etia 1
Zillah 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Gall surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 42
John 41
George 28
Thomas 27
James 23
Robert 15
Charles 13
Arthur 12
Frederick 12
Henry 11
Samuel 8
Edward 7
Walter 7
Benjamin 5
Harry 5
Alexander 4
Edmund 4
Matthew 4
Alfred 3
Herbert 3
Peter 3
Albert 2
Chas. 2
Francis 2
Fredrick 2
Hugh 2
Alex 1
Andrew 1
Charlie 1
Christopher 1
Colin 1
Edgar 1
Edwin 1
Elisha 1
Emmis 1
Ernest 1
Fedrick 1
Frank 1
Fred 1
H. 1
Henery 1
Infant 1
Johnathan 1
Joseph 1
Laurie 1
Lawer 1
Leonard 1
Llewellyn 1
Luis 1
Wm.Hy. 1

FAQ

Gall surname: questions and answers

How common was the Gall surname in 1881?

In 1881, 1,946 people were recorded with the Gall surname. That placed it at #2,249 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Gall surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,996 in 2016. That gives Gall a modern rank of #3,231.

What does the Gall surname mean?

A surname of French origin referring to someone who lived in Gaul or was descended from the Gauls.

What does the Gall map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Gall bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.