Given name & surname · also Middle English
Walsh
“Welsh(man)”
Walsh is a surname from Middle English (ultimately Old English).
Meaning & origin
What it means
Walsh goes back to Middle English Walsch, meaning “Welsh(man).”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Walsh comes from Middle English, and ultimately from Old English.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Middle English Walsch (“Welsh(man)”), from Old English wælisċ.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1994. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Walsh through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 20
- 20 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 8 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 7 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 153 as a first name in 2020; 101,867 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.
Walsh’s family of names
Walsh has a related form in Wallace. In English usage, Walsh as a surname has a related form in WALCH. In English usage, Walsh as a surname has a related form in Walshe.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Walsh, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Barley
“bear”
>99% boys
Roxton
“rook” · “hill”
>99% boys
Barrow
“grove”
>99% boys
Fordham
“homestead”
>99% boys
Darlington
“the settlement of Dēornōþ's people”
>99% boys
Loxton
“enclosure; settlement, town”
>99% boys
Kidd
“resembling a young goat”
>99% boys
Eames
“a wealthy protector”
>99% boys