English Surnames: Their Sources and Significations
from Meadow Landmarks By James PylantDO NOT POST OR PUBLISH WITHOUT PERMISSION Those with the surnames of Meadow and Meadows realize an ancient ancestor obviously dwelled at or near a meadow. Meadows is a common American surname, ranking at 642 of the top 55,000. Meadow, though, falls much farther down the scale at 20,278, still below the variants Meador (3,171) and Meadors (8,084). A large percentage of Meadow(s) and Meador(s) settling in the South and Midwest by the mid 1800s descended from either Ambrose Meador or Thomas Meador, both of whom arrived in the Colony of Virginia in the 1630s.1 Mead, Meade and Meads are also English references to meadow. In Oxfordshire, the local word for meadow was hamme. But the ancient English word for pasture was lea, hence the surnames of Lee/Lea/Leigh. Etymologist Charles W. E. Bardsley explained ley and lee actually meant shelter, but commented that "it is impossible to distinguish the two" from lea.2 Many common English surname resulted from lee, lea and ley suffixes, and the meanings of some are easily recognizable today. Brierley — literally a brier, from the Old English word brer — coupled with ley is a thorn bush meadow. Beasley is thought to mean a bee inhabited meadow or wooded area, while Huntley was an area used by hunters. Ashley is an ash tree meadow while other tree characteristics are Elmsley and Oakley and Lindley (for linden tree). The prefixes of other surnames are not as telling. A fern-covered area became Farley, and the archaic brom (brushwood) led to Bromley and Brantley. Leas with birch trees produced Berkley and Berkeley and — because of the pronunciation — Barclay. Brink remains in the English vocabulary for "at the verge" or "on the edge." It comes from the Middle Low German word for shore or bank. Thus Brinkley is a meadow at the "brink" of a slop. Shelley is a sloping pasture or wooded area. Other names examples of geographical features are Henley (a higher pasture), Hinckley (a steeper pasture), Crumley (crump or crumb, meaning crooked), Burley (by or at the edge of a hill), Bradley (a wider pasture), Langley (long) Stanley (indicating a rocky surface), Grassley and Gressley (grassy), and Morley (lacking cultivation). Water locations include Beckley (a nearby brook) and Marley (a lake). Examples of "meadow" surnames describing coloring are Blakely (one with black soil or wood), Ridley (red soil), and the obvious Greenlee and Brownlee and Whiteley or Whitley. Other than vegetation and geography, lea and ley surnames reflect animals and game, such as Oxley, Buckley, Horsley, Cowley, Foxley, Crowley (or Crawley). Still others are Hartley — for a red stag deer meadow — and Harley (hare) and Shipley/Shepley (sheep). Parsley indicates a fenced area for cattle. Staley means an enclosed meadow, done so with staves to prevent intruders. Another example of a enclosed pasture, though more fortified, is Moberley. A landmark feature such as a Christian symbol produced Crossley. Shirley is a shire meadow; scir is the forerunner of shire (county). Ownership is found in yet another category of these surnames. Property belonging to the king became the apparent Kingsley, just as Priestly is a priest’s meadow. Ansley means a pasture held by a swordsman, and Tankersley shows reverence to a "gracious warrior." The name of an ancient inhabitant may also be reflected in the name, such as Tinsley (belonging to Tynne) and Wadley (belonging to Wada). And then there’s Ugley, apparently referring to the "woodland clearing of a man named Ugga."3 Understandably, this surname and its variant Ugly are rare.
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