Ball is an English surname that has multiple potential origins, as do many short surnames: one origin suggests that Ball is a shortened form, a "favorite contraction", of the given name Baldwin, dating "from Norman times" another purported origin is related to living near a "knoll or rounded hill" the surname may also descend from the Old Norse personal name "Balle" it could be a toponymic surname, related to Ball, Cornwall, EnglandAccording to Bowman, Ball and related names had only "limited application as personal names and that generally they have come into existence as nicknames.". Wikipedia