WOOLLEY

(origin: Local) Wold-ley, uncultivated lands, hills without wood.

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

WOOLLEY. WOOLEY. Anciently written Wolflege and Wolveley, i. e., AngloSaxonice, ' wulfcs-leag,' a district abounding in wolves — tliename of many localities in Saxon times. See the force of corruption in words, which thus brings, like Pha;drus, the Wolf and the Lamb together. For who Avould suspect, under cover of this fleecy name, the presence of the arch enemy of the fold ? Truly of this surname it may be predicated, that it is a wolf in sheep's clothing !

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