| The boy name Wallace [ 2 syll. wal-la-ce, wa-ll-ace ] is pronounced WAOLahS KEY. Wallace has its origins in the Old French language. It is used largely in English and Scottish. Developed from the word waleis with the meaning 'foreign, Celtic'. The first name is derived from the Scottish surname, which was originally a nickname given by Normans to minority Celtic people, such as Welshmen living around the border of England and Wales known as the Welsh Marches. The given name was first bestowed in Scotland, in honor of the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace (1272/1276-1305), who was executed by the English for his leading role in the wars of independence for his country. It was later adopted by English speakers from the 19th century. The name is in modern times associated with the absent-minded character of the same name in Nick Park's animated series Wallace and Gromit (1990s). In England, the short form Wally is used as colloquial term for a young cucumber and also for an inept person; the latter use has possibly diminished the popularity of the short form of the name. Forms of the name include the Gaelic and Scottish Uallas and the English Wallis. The short forms Wal (English) and Wally (English) are other variants of Wallace. Wallace is uncommon as a baby boy name. At the modest height of its usage in 1923, 0.247% of baby boys were named Wallace. It had a ranking of #69 then. The baby name has dropped out of favor since then, and is of only sporadic use now. Within all boy names in its family, Wallace was nevertheless the most popular in 2007. Baby names that sound like Wallace include the English names Wallis, Wilkie, and Willis. KEY: Pronunciation for Wallace: W as in "we (W.IY)" ; AO as in "ought (AO.T)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)"
A famous person named Wallace is Poet, Wallace Stevens, born 2 October 1879 - 2 August 1955, Reading, Pennsylvania. |
