BARKLEY

Barkley is an English locational surname that originally denoted a person who lived near or in a clearing or meadow of birch trees. The name is thus descriptive of a particular landscape feature and is closely linked to place names in Gloucestershire and Somerset.

The word birch in Old English was rendered beorc or beorċ, while leah meant a wood, clearing or meadow. When combined, beorc-leah gave rise to the place name Berchelai in Gloucestershire, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and later Berchelei in Somerset. The suffix -ley is retained in the surname, producing Barkley, which can be understood as "clearing of birch trees".

As the Domesday Book shows, the earliest spelling of the family name was that of Roger de Berchelai, dated 1086 during the reign of King William I, the Conqueror. The name is first found in the latter half of the eleventh century and was associated with landholding families in Gloucestershire and Somerset.

In the fourteenth century the name reached Scotland, where the earliest recorded bearer was Walter de Berchelai or Berkelai from Gloucestershire. Walter became Chamberlain of Scotland in 1165, signalling the establishment of the family within the Scottish court.

By the late seventeenth century the surname appeared in London. A record notes the marriage of Jane Barkley to Jeremiah Chevers on 5 May 1695 at St. James Dukes Place, London. In the same period, John Barclay of Cambridge Heath founded Barclays Bank (1728‑1787), a name that remains associated with banking to this day.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many bearers of the surname emigrated to British colonies and the United States. In the United States, the name is now common, with concentrations in several states; it is also found in Canada, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where, relative to population, it has the highest frequency of the three. Distribution data from surname tracking sites consistently place the United States at the top of total numbers, followed by Canada and Scotland, but Northern Ireland remains the most frequent per capita.

Over time the spelling of the name has diversified. Variants include Berkeley, Berkley, Barclay, Barcley, Barckley, Barleigh, Bartley, Berklee, Barklie, Barkly, Barcly and Barklee. These differences arise from regional pronunciation, variations in literacy and the transcription practices of clerks in the early modern period.

Notable individuals who have borne the surname include the Chamberlain of Scotland Walter de Berchelai, the banker John Barclay, and the contemporary American basketball player Charles Barkley. These bearers illustrate the name’s historical depth and its persistence into modern times.

Typical given names associated with the Barkley surname

Male

• Andrew
• David
• Ian
• James
• John
• Michael
• Paul
• Peter
• Robert
• Thomas
• William

Female

• Elizabeth
• Jacqueline
• Jenni
• Jennifer
• Jill
• Juliet
• Karen
• Lesley
• Lynn
• Margaret
• Mary
• Nicola
• Sarah
• Susan
• Tracey

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Barkley in...

Braille

⠃⠁⠗⠅⠇⠑⠽

Morse

-....-.-.-.-.-...-.--

Semaphore

Surname type: Location or geographical feature

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Barkley

• Ross Barkley - Football player
• Saquon Barkley - American football running back
• Charles Barkley - American basketball player
• Olly Barkley - Rugby union player
• Noel Barkley - New Zealand association football player

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

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