Colley
Usually a medieval pet form of Nicholas, though in some cases it may also reflect a place-name or spelling variation from Cowley/Cooley.
The #3,996 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,741 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is most often explained as a diminutive or pet form of Coll, itself a short form of Nicholas. In that tradition, Colley would mean roughly “little Coll” or “son of Coll,” with Coll ultimately linked to Nicholas. Some 19th-century surname writers also noted that certain bearers may instead belong with Cowley/Cooley spellings or other local-name forms, so the surname is not always from one single source.
History
Bardsley treats Colley as a familiar medieval form connected with Nicholas, and notes early examples in 14th- and 15th-century records. Lower also remarks that prominent bearers such as the Wellington/Wellesley family once used spellings like Colley, Cowley, and Cooley. The surname later spread in Britain and to the United States, where it survives in several spelling traditions.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older spelling traditions, the same family line could appear as Colley, Cowley, or Cooley in different records.
From the historical record
“COLLEY. The original surname of tlie Marquis Wellesley, the Duke of "Wellington, &c., was Avritten Cowley, temp. Hen. VIII. COLLICK. Probably Colwick, co. Not- tingham. COLLIER. A maker of charcoal, for- merly a much more important and common occupation than now. In medieval docu- ments it is M-ritten Le Coliere…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom