SOLLOWAY
Solloway is an English surname that falls into the category of locational names, indicating that the original bearer was associated with a particular place or feature that bore the same name.
The earliest recorded form of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Somerset in 1273, where an individual named Robert Saleway is documented. The surname is believed to have been derived either from the Old English personal name Sulwig, meaning "south battle," or from a descriptive term for a dwelling by a major thoroughfare, namely a Sale‑way – a road that passed a large house or hall, with “sale” being an early word for such a building.
These two possible origins both emphasise a geographical aspect: either a battle site located in the south or a settlement situated along a notable road. The name is closely linked to the West Country, where the first known records were found. Few, if any, villages bearing the name survive to the present day, which is why the surname is predominantly seen in documentary rather than geographic form.
Throughout the fifteenth and later centuries, the name appears in a variety of spellings. In Somerset Surrey rolls of 1350, a John Seleway is listed, and in the same period a John Selewye is recorded, both during the reign of King Edward III. The surname later evolved into forms such as Sallowaye, Solloway and Solway, the last occasionally associated with the Solway Firth between Scotland and England, though this geographic reference is generally considered incidental to the name’s true origin.
Notable marital records also document the name. Hercules Hale married Mary Soloway in 1669 at St James Church, Clerkenwell, and in 1752 William Solway entered into marriage with Mary Mackey at St George’s Chapel, Mayfair, London. These entries substantiate the continued use of the name across diverse locales in England.
The heraldic arms traditionally associated with the surname are described as a red field charged with an engrailed gold saltire.
The surname Solloway is one of a family of English locational names that share the suffix -way, including Greenway, Holloway and Bithaway, each denoting a particular village or settlement situated by the main road.
Typical given names associated with the Solloway surname
Male
- Aidan
- Andrew
- Benjamin
- David
- Mark
- Martin
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Phil
- Robert
- Thomas
Female
- Anne
- Brenda
- Chloe
- Elizabeth
- Hannah
- Helen
- Jacqueline
- Joanne
- Karen
- Nicola
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 Solloway in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 254 people named Solloway in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around four in a million people in Britain are named Solloway.
Famous people named Solloway
- Amanda Solloway - Politician
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.