Wallace is a name with an enormous American footprint (83,024 SSA records) and a trajectory that tells the story of vintage naming fashion perfectly. Ranked #981 with a 1923 peak, it spent the better part of a century as a grandfather name and is now being rediscovered by parents who see the Wallace-and-Gromit-meets-Braveheart aesthetic as exactly what they want.
Origins: The Welsh Foreigner
Wallace derives from the Anglo-Norman Waleis, meaning "foreigner" or "Welshman" — the same root that gives us Wales. It was originally a term used by Anglo-Normans to describe Welsh and other Celtic peoples, and it became a surname in Scotland and England through that usage. The most famous medieval bearer is William Wallace, the Scottish knight and national hero whose resistance to English rule in the late thirteenth century is the defining event of the name's cultural biography. Old English and Anglo-Norman names of this vintage have deep roots in American naming history.
The 1920s Peak and the Long Sleep
Wallace peaked in American use in 1923 — the height of the silent-film era, when the name was associated with youthful energy rather than retirement. The actor Wallace Beery was a major star of that period. After decades of decline, the name is now in the same rediscovery pipeline as Herbert, Arthur, and Walter: names that skipped a generation and are coming back precisely because of their vintage character. The 1920s naming landscape was the last time Wallace was genuinely fashionable.
Counter-Reading: Wally
The natural nickname is Wally, which is either charming or unfortunate depending on your associations — "wally" is British slang for a foolish person, which is a minor but real consideration. The full Wallace, however, is genuinely distinguished. Compare Wallace vs. Walter for two vintage W names on the same comeback trajectory.