Pala Family History
Pala Surname Meaning
Italian: topographic name from pala ‘upland meadow’. Catalan and Italian: possibly also a metonymic occupational name from pala ‘shovel’ (from Latin pala) denoting someone who made or used this implement.
Catalan (Palà): habitational name from a place called Palà in Barcelona province. Polish (also Pała) and Czech; Slovak (Paľa): from a short form of the personal name Polish Paweł (see Pawel) Czech Pavel Slovak Pavol ‘Paul’. Compare Palla.
Czech: from Moravian dialect pala ‘head’ used as a nickname for an obstinate person. Turkish: ornamental name or nickname from pala a loanword from Italian denoting a kind of a scimitar resembling a shovel (pala in Italian; see above).
Indian: Gujarati name of unexplained etymology.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022