Show ContentsAlle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Alle

What does the name Alle mean?

This surname is derived from a geographical locality as in 'of the Alley,' i.e. from residence in a narrow passage from the Middle English aley and alley. 1 2 3

Early Origins of the Alle family

The surname Alle was first found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where Alli was listed in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire. 4 The next entry for the family was found in Norfolk, where early records there show Johannes filius Alli in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1205. In Cumberland, Hugo, son of Ally was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1332 and Alice Ally was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. Richard Ally was a Freeman of York in 1352. 5 Simon de Ally, Lancashire was listed in the Testa de Nevill, sive Liber Feodorum, temp. Henry III-Edward I. 6

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 recorded Walter Alleye, Oxfordshire and John Alley, Cambridgeshire. 1

Early History of the Alle family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alle research. Another 206 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1041, 1046, 1092, 1153, 1166, 1451, 1455, 1487, 1510, 1539, 1543, 1570, 1600, 1623, 1706, 1726 and 1810 are included under the topic Early Alle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Alle Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Alle has appeared include Alye, Allye, Allie, Alley, Aley, Allee, Aleigh and many more.

Early Notables of the Alle family

  • William Alley (1510?-1570), English divine, Bishop of Exeter, a native of Chipping Wycombe, Buckinghamshire...
  • Queen Elizabeth, out of the great respect she had for Alley, sent him yearly a silver cup for a new year's gift...


Alle migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Alle arrived in North America very early:

Alle Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jean Alle, who arrived in New York in 1725 7
  • Jean Francois Alle, who landed in America in 1783 7
Alle Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Juan Alle, aged 19, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1830 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Alle (post 1700) +

  • Alle Toppen, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Michigan, 1912 8


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  7. 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)
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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