Falls
Usually an English topographic surname, for someone who lived by a waterfall or a steep drop in the land.
The #4,865 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 42,586 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is most likely from Middle English and Old English words for a fall, descent, or waterfall, used as a topographic nickname for someone who lived near such a feature. The historical evidence in the excerpts points to a place-based origin rather than a personal-name source. Some older writers also connect similar forms with place-names or minor localities, but the simplest explanation is a person identified by a local landscape feature.
History
The form appears in medieval records as de Faleis and related spellings, showing that it was already in use as a surname in England by the Middle Ages. Later English spellings settled into Falls, while closely related names such as Fall, Fales, and possibly Fullshaw or other local forms were treated separately by some 19th-century writers. The name is not especially common, but it has remained in English-speaking countries, especially Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A medieval Latinized spelling, William de Faleis, is cited in an old English surname dictionary as an early form of the name.
From the historical record
“subjoined entries, the assertion that the origin is Shaw-field-bottoif (Lower) falls to the ground. 1581. Married — John Shipoobodiam and Anne Wilkynwn : Reg, tiejtbory (Eaat Chea.), p. 74.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances