BAILEY

A name of office; a corruption of Bailiff, which is derived from the French bailler, to deliver. A municipal officer in Scotland corresponding to an alderman.

Arthur, William (1857) An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. New York: Sheldon, Blakeman. Public Domain.

BAILEY. BAILY. 1. From Bailli, in the arrondissement of Neufchatel ; Bailli in that of Dieppe, in Normandy; Bailey, a township in Lancashire ; or Bailie, a township in Cumberland. 2. Another form of bailiff, a title of office applied in many ways under our feudal and municipal laws, 3. A name given to the courts of a castle formed by the spaces between the circuits of walls or defences which surround the keep. Gloss. Arch.

Lower, Mark A (1860) Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom. London: J.R. Smith. Public Domain.