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Whale History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Whale History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Whale reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Whale family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Whale family lived in Berwickshire, at Le Whele, near the Whele Causey (Wheel Causeway) a Roman road which passes through the county. Some occurrences of the name may be derived from the original bearer's residence in Wales.

Early Origins of the Whale family

The surname Whale was first found in Berwickshire where they held a family seat from early times, at a place named Le Whele.

Early History of the Whale family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Whale research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1684 and 1722 are included under the topic Early Whale History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Whale Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Whale, Whele, Whaill and others.

Early Notables of the Whale family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Robert Whale, Army Surgeon

Whale migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Whale name or one of its variants:

Whale Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Philemon Whale, who settled in Boston in 1630
William Whale, who landed in New England in 1645 [1]
Philemon Whale, who landed in New England in 1648 [1]

Whale Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Captain Whale who settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1712
William Whale, who settled in Maryland in 1736

Whale Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Whale, aged 39, who arrived in New York in 1812 [1]

Whale migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Whale Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Mrs. Mary Whale, (b. 1815), aged 40, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, she died in the sinking [2]
Mr. Samuel Whale, (b. 1842), aged 13, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, he died in the sinking [2]
Mr. Frederick Whale, (b. 1845), aged 10, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, he died in the sinking [2]
Mr. John Whale, (b. 1847), aged 8, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, he died in the sinking [2]
Miss Elizabeth Whale, (b. 1854), aged 1, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth destined for Quebec, Canada aboard the ship "Barque John" on 3rd May 1855 which sank after striking the reef, she died in the sinking [2]

Whale migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Whale Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Mark Whale, (b. 1797), aged 22, English farm labourer who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for life for house breaking, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [3]
John Whale, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia [4]
Mr. George Whale, (b. 1810), aged 21, British Butcher born in Wiltshire, England who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 14 years for stealing sheep, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia, he died on 1890 [5]
Mr. Thomas Whale, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Barossa" on 8th December 1839, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [6]
George Whale, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Abberton" in 1846 [7]
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Whale migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Whale Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Whale, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
Mrs. Isabella Whale, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "New Great Britain" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 10th August 1863 [8]
Mr. Robert Whale, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "New Great Britain" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 10th August 1863 [8]
Mr. Charles Whale, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "New Great Britain" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 10th August 1863 [8]
Miss Isaiah Whale, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "New Great Britain" arriving in Bluff, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 10th August 1863 [8]

Contemporary Notables of the name Whale (post 1700) +

James Whale (1889-1957), English movie director, best known for his works Frankenstein (1931), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Michael "James" Whale (b. 1951), English broadcaster for radio and television
George Whale (1842-1910), British locomotive engineer from Essex, who worked for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) as Locomotive Superintendent (1903-1908), known for his LNWR Whale Precursor locomotive

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/wreck_of_emigrant_ship_john_1855.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1824 with 9 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1824
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barossa
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ABBERTON 1846. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1846Abberton.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html