WHITELEY
Whiteley is an English locational surname that originates from the Old English words hwit, meaning “white”, and leah, meaning “wood” or “clearing”. The name indicates that the earliest bearers lived near or in a white wood or clearing, and it may also have served as a nickname for someone with fair or light-coloured hair or complexion.
The surname has pre‑7th‑century origins and is connected to various villages named Whiteley in England. These settlements are recorded in the counties of Berkshire, Cheshire, Northumberland, Wiltshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire, or they denote residence at a clearing in a white wood. The precise meaning of “white” is uncertain; it is generally accepted to refer to a deciduous woodland, perhaps specifically a birch forest, rather than an evergreen one. Alternately, it could denote a lightly forested area at a time when at least nine tenths of England was covered by forest.
Whiteley is among the oldest surnames on record, with documented instances dating to the 12th century, a period that marks the dawn of widespread surname use in England. Prior to this period, only the nobility and the clergy possessed formal names, and even they would not have recognised the term. Early examples include Richardus de Witelay of Yorkshire in the 1190 Pipe Rolls, Hilda de Wittelia in the Pipe Rolls of Nottingham, and Richard de Whiteley in the 1246 Assize Rolls of Lancashire.
Later records show the surname in several variations. William Whitleaye is listed in the 1582 register of students at Oxford University, and Thomas Whitlee, a lighterman, is recorded as marrying Mary Ambros at Canterbury, Kent, on 1 June 1688. The first dated spelling of the name is that of William de Witteleia, recorded in 1125 in the ancient charters of Cheshire during the reign of King Henry I, between 1100 and 1135.
The coat of arms granted to the family in Yorkshire is described by the blazon: a blue field charged with three torteaux on a silver bend. This heraldic symbol further cements the long-established status of the Whiteley surname within the English gentry.
Typical given names associated with the Whiteley surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Alison
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Janet
- Joanne
- Karen
- Margaret
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Wadeley
- Wateley
- Whateley
- Whately
- Wheateley
- Wheatley
- Whital
- Whitall
- Whiteall
- Whitee
- Whitehill
- Whitel
- Whitelay
- Whitelee
- Whiteleg
- Whitell
- Whitelow
- Whitely
- Whitelz
- Whitiley
- Whitlay
- Whitle
- Whitles
- Whitley
- Whitlie
- Whitly
- Whittal
- Whittale
- Whittall
- Whittel
- Whittell
- Whittelsey
- Whittill
- Whittle
- Whittles
- Whittley
- Whitwell
- Whytell
- Witeley
- Witley
- Wittel
- Wittell
- Wittels
- Wittle
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Whiteley in...
Braille
⠺⠓⠊⠞⠑⠇⠑⠽
Morse
.--......-..-...-.--
Semaphore
There are approximately 7,739 people named Whiteley in the UK. That makes it roughly the 1,214th most common surname in Britain. Around 119 in a million people in Britain are named Whiteley.
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Whiteley
- Richard Whiteley - Television personality (1943 to 2005)
- Jon Whiteley - Actor, art historian
- Ross Whiteley - Cricketer
- Peter Whiteley - Governor of Jersey (1920 to 2016)
- John Whiteley - Army general (1896 to 1970)
- Wilfrid Whiteley - Politician (1882 to 1970)
- William Whiteley - Politician (1882 to 1955)
- Andrew John Whiteley - Chess player (1947 to 2014)
- Johnny Whiteley - Rugby league football player and coach
- Eric Whiteley - Rugby union player (1904 to 1973)
- Lee Whiteley - Athlete
- Peter Whiteley - County cricketer
- Martha Annie Whiteley - Chemist (1866 to 1956)
- Harvey Whiteley - Rugby league player
- Sheila Whiteley - (1941 to 2015)
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.