Whaley

English

Etymology

From Old English wielle (“well, spring”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to well +‎ -ley (“lea”).

Proper noun

Whaley (countable and uncountable, plural Whaleys)

1. A village in Bolsover district, Derbyshire, England (OS grid ref SK5171).
2. A habitational surname from Old English.

Derived terms

• Whaley Bridge
• Whaley Thorns

 

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Whaley is the 1575^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 22833 individuals. Whaley is most common among White (80.79%) and Black/African American (14.7%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Whaley”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• Hawley