Fall History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The history of the ancestors of the Fall family begins among the Pictish clans ancient Scotland. The name Fall comes from the personal name Paul. The Gaelic form of the name is Mac Phàil. 1
Another source notes the name is from "Mac Phail, ‘Paul's Son'. Phail is Anglicised from Maelfabhaill. ‘Maelfabhaill, son of Muircheartach, slain by the Norsemen'. " 2
Early Origins of the Fall family
The surname Fall was first found in Inverness, where one of the first records was of Gillemore M'Phale who was one of an inquest at Inverness in 1414. 3
From this earliest record, spellings were frequently changed. "Donald M'Pawle witnessed an indenture between Doncan Makyntosche and Huchone the Rois, Baron of Kylraok, 1490, and Donald Makfaill and Gylleis Makfaill were witnesses to a contract of friendship between Dunbar of Westfield and the Clanchattan, 1492. Finlay MacChaell, bailie of Rothesay, 1501, appears in 1503 as Macfaill, and again in 1506 as Makcaill, under which name he received a grant of a third of the lands of Dunallirde in Bute. The lands of Dulatyr in the lordship of Petty were let to Gilleis McFale in 1504. Sir John Mcfaell, a Pope's knight, who witnessed a bond of manrent in 1533, is possibly D John M'Fale who witnessed a charter relating to the church of Lindichty, 1535, and in 1538 appears as rector of the church." 3
Early History of the Fall family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fall research. Another 420 words (30 lines of text) covering the years 1411, 1481, 1490, 1502, 1510, 1533, 1547, 1548, 1557, 1575, 1578, 1579, 1583, 1588, 1589, 1603, 1618, 1670, 1671, 1678, 1684, 1686, 1692, 1699, 1706, 1711, 1736, 1754, 1785, 1786, 1794, 1805 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Fall History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Fall Spelling Variations
Prior to the invention of the printing press in the last hundred years, documents were basically unique. Names were written according to sound, and often appeared differently each time they were recorded. Spelling variations of the name Fall include MacPhail, MacPhial, MacPhiel, MacFail, MacFall, MacFaul, MacVail, MacPhale, MacPail, MacPhaul, MacFale, Phail, Fayle and many more.
Early Notables of the Fall family
Notable amongst the Clan at this time was James MacPhail (fl. 1786-1805), gardener, the son of a highland peasant, born in Aberdeenshire in 1754. In his seventeenth year he obtained employment as a farm labourer. 'I ate and drank,' he says, 'at the same table as my master and mistress, for I was the only servant or labourer they kept' (Hints and Observations on the Improvement of...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fall Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Fall Ranking
In the United States, the name Fall is the 8,301st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4
Migration of the Fall family to Ireland
Some of the Fall family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 77 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Fall migration to the United States +
The freedom of the North American colonies was enticing, and many Scots left to make the great crossing. It was a long and hard journey, but its reward was a place where there was more land than people and tolerance was far easier to come by. Many of these people came together to fight for a new nation in the American War of Independence, while others remained loyal to the old order as United Empire Loyalists. The ancestors of Scots in North America have recovered much of this heritage in the 20th century through Clan societies and other such organizations. A search of immigration and passenger lists revealed many important and early immigrants to North America bearing the name of Fall:
Fall Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Anthony Fall Jr., who arrived in Maryland in 1668 5
- Elizabeth Fall, who arrived in Maryland in 1668 5
Fall Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Diedrick Fall, aged 34, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1743 5
- John Dieter Fall, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 5
Fall Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Fall, who landed in New Jersey in 1811 5
- Patrick Fall, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1812 5
- F M Fall, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
- C Fall, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
- J C Fall, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Fall 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:
Fall Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- Leonora M. Fall, aged 23, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ballochmyle" in 1874
- Miss Leonora M. Fall, (b. 1851), aged 23, Cornish servant departing on 4th March 187 aboard the ship "Ballochmyle" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 1st June 1874 6
Fall migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
7Fall Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- Charles Fall, aged 19, who arrived in Barbados in 1635 aboard the ship "Falcon" 5
Citations +
- Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
- Moore, A.W., Manx Names. London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1906. Print
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies