Southall
A locational surname from Southall in Middlesex, with an older sense of someone living at the south corner or southern slope.
The #9,983 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,557 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Southall is usually explained as a habitational name from Southall in Middlesex. The place-name is commonly taken from Old English elements meaning “south” plus a term for a corner, nook, or slope; older spellings such as Suthalle support this reading. Some 19th-century sources also interpret it more generally as “dweller at the south corner” or “south slope.”
History
The surname appears in medieval records in forms such as de Suthalle and later became established as an English local surname. It is associated especially with the Middlesex place-name Southall, though some early bearers are found elsewhere in England. The name is now best known as an English surname but is also found in countries shaped by English migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Southall is one of several surnames that look directional but actually began as a place-name label for people identified by where they came from.
From the historical record
“where it glosses sutor. SOUTHALL (Eng.) Bel. to Southall (M'sex, etc.) ; or Dweller at i the South Corner [O.E. su'S + h(e)am 2 the South Slope [O.E. su'S -f h(e)al{d(= O.n.hall-r] The M.E. forms are usually Suthalle”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)