answers.input_text: short
answers.span_text: a Scottish surname
questions: where did the last name wallace come from
name: Wallace (surname)
contexts: Wallace is a Scottish surname derived from the Anglo - Norman French waleis , which is in turn derived from a cognate of the Old English wylisc ( pronounced `` wullish '' ) meaning `` foreigner '' or `` Welshman '' ( etymology ; see also Wallach and Walhaz ) . The original surname may have denoted someone from the former Kingdom of Strathclyde who spoke Cumbric , a close relative of the Welsh language , or possibly an incomer from Wales , or the Welsh Marches . The Kingdom of Strathclyde was originally a part of the Hen Ogledd , its people speaking a Brythonic language distinct from Scottish Gaelic and the English derived from Lothian . In modern times , in the 19th and 20th centuries , the surname has been used as an Americanization of numerous Ashkenazic Jewish surnames .