This interesting surname of Danish origin is a patronymic from the old Norse personal name Balle, itself coming from "bal" meaning "torture" or "pain". The surname dates back to the early 17th Century, (see below). Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Baling, Ballinge, etc.. Marey, daughter of James and Elizabeth Baling, was christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, on April 10th 1620, and Frances Baling was christened on November 22nd 1680, at St. Anne Soho, Westminster. One Mary Balling, aged 25 yrs a famine emigrant, sailed from Liverpool, aboard the "Atlas" bound for New york on May 11th 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Marrian Ballinga, christened, which was dated 1615 St. Mary Abbots, Kensington, during the reign of King James 1, of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.