Given name & surname · also Old French
Wallace
“foreign, Celtic”·“a Welshman; a man from the south”
Wallace is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “foreign, Celtic” (Old French) and “a Welshman; a man from the south” (Scottish). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “foreign, Celtic” (Old French) and “a Welshman; a man from the south” (Scottish). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old French.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wallace through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 83,851
- 83,263 boys · 588 girls
- Most popular year
- 1923
- 2,815 babies
- 2025
- 247
- #964 for boys · #14,828 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +3%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 241 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 964 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 4.0% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,803 in 1923. It also appeared in 6 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 29,219 as a first name in 2020; 189,325 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Wallace’s family of names
In English usage, Wallace has a diminutive in Wally. Wallace has a feminine form in Wallis. Wallace has a related form in Walley.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Wallace has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Old French roots to each of them.
6 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Wallace
- Wallace StevensAmerican poet (1879–1955)
- Wallace ShawnAmerican actor and playwrightborn 1943
- Wallace BeeryAmerican actor (1885-1949)
- Wallace CarothersAmerican organic chemist (1896–1937)
- Wallace StegnerAmerican historian, writer, and environmentalist (1909-1993)
- Wallace SpearmonAmerican sprinterborn 1984
- Wallace ReidAmerican actor (1891–1923)
- Wallace LanghamAmerican actorborn 1965
- Wallace Hartleyband leader on the RMS Titanic (1878–1912)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wallace, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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