PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Surname BAL

Slav — Wed Nov 07, 2012 5:09 am

Author: Slav

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 5:09 am

According to William Hoffman’s Polish Surnames Origins and Meanings, there are several alternative origins of the name Bal:

-- bal- is the root of the Old Slavic baliti meaning “to tell tales, talk gibberish”
-- short form of the first name Baltazar
-- Hungarian first name Bal.

Surnames associated with Bal (sharing the same origin): Bala, Bała, Balas, Baleja, Balik, Baliszewski, etc.

Spis Szlachty Polskiej (Register of Polish Nobility), published in 1887 in Lvov, mentions the name Bal of the Gozdawa coat of arms, appearing in the year 1444 in the Sanok district.

Click here http://polishorigins.com/databases/index?s=Bal and http://polishorigins.com/databases/index?s=chojnowska to check what can be found about your surname in the PolishOrigins Databases tool.

According to the PolishOrigins Surnames Database, there are several PolishOrigins members who are interested in the surname Bal: http://polishorigins.com/surnames/search/string/Bal

I hope that you will find this information useful. You are welcome to share with us the news about the progress of your genealogical research.

Re: Surname BAL

gerre — Tue May 24, 2011 9:39 am

Author: gerre

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:39 am

Thanks for your replies, I appreciate them very much. I've traced many of the Bal arrivals from the LDS, Ellis Island and Castle Garden sites. I've been doing this for about 20 years and little by little find information. Without going to Polish records, I can never be sure who is actually related. I know many emmigrants went to Polish church areas in the US, probably from word of mouth from other family members. Not knowing how far apart families in Poland lived, it's hard to determine who may be related. I do know my grandfather went to the Conservatory in Krakow to play the cello and that he was part of the Royal Guard to Emperor Franz Josef. I also know he wrote some kind of political essay that was published, and that he got in trouble for writing. ... but I don't know how to develop that information. His brother (that I know about) moved to Budapest where there are a ton of Bal names. I do feel the area he came from is southeast of Rzeszow and need to contact the church in that area.

Re: Surname BAL

PolishLibrarian — Thu May 19, 2011 7:42 pm

Author: PolishLibrarian

Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 7:42 pm

gerre~ I have used this website to see name distributions in Poland. This address should show you Bal - it says there are 1,999 people named Bal. http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/bal.html

Can't say anything about the meaning. Hope this helps.

Re: Surname BAL

Shellie — Thu May 19, 2011 6:40 pm

Author: Shellie

Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 6:40 pm

gerre wrote:

How common is the name BAL and what does it mean?

Hi gerre!
I'm certainly no expert, but the Ellis Island website shows over 370 arrivals for passengers named Bal, many of them from Austria, Galicia, Russia, Poland. Are you having much luck with your Polish genealogy? What info do you have so far?

Surname BAL

gerre — Mon Mar 14, 2011 4:43 pm

Author: gerre

Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 4:43 pm

How common is the name BAL and what does it mean?