Saul
A surname with several possible roots, including the biblical name Saul and English place-name forms related to “Sale” or “Saul.”
The #4,981 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,812 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has more than one possible origin. In some cases it is a baptismal surname from the biblical Hebrew name Saul, meaning “asked for” or “prayed for.” In others it appears to be local, from English place-names or house-names written as Sale or Saul, which may come from a word for a hall or dwelling, or from a willow-tree term; in Ireland, Saul can also reflect Gaelic sabhall, “barn.”
History
Medieval records show the surname in several spellings, and later writers treated it as a cluster of related but distinct origins rather than one single family line. In England it is especially associated with Gloucestershire and with surname forms built from place-names such as Sale or Saul. In Ireland, Saul is also famously tied to the place name in County Down associated with St. Patrick’s mission.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A well-known Irish place called Saul in County Down is traditionally explained as a shortened form of sabhall, “barn,” linked to St. Patrick’s work there.
From the historical record
“Robert le Sauser. — Hund. Rolls. SAUL \ (Heb.) Asked For [Heb. ShdAl, pp. SAU LL J of the root shdal, to ask] (Eng.) Bel. to Saul (Glouc), app. an irreg. form of Sale, q.v. (Fr.-Teut.) Dweller at a Willow-Tree .[Fr. saule, O.H.Ger. salaha (= O.E. s{e)alh), a willow] (rarely) (Celt.) Dweller at a Barn [Gael,”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)