Oakley
A habitational surname meaning someone from an oak-wood or oak meadow.
The #2,099 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,911 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Oakley comes from Old English elements meaning “oak” and “woodland clearing” or “meadow.” In other words, it originally named a person who lived at or came from a place characterized by oak trees. The surname was also used for people from any of several English places called Oakley.
History
Medieval records show the name in forms such as Ocle and Oakley, reflecting the many English settlements with that place-name. Because there were several Oakleys across England, the surname arose independently in more than one county. It later spread beyond its original local clusters, and it remains well established in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers noted that there were multiple English parishes named Oakley, which is why the surname could spring up in several different places at once.
From the historical record
“and Wilts. OAKLEY \ (Eng.) Bel. to Oakley; or Dweller OAKLY I at the Oak-Lea [O.E. ac, oak-tree -t- ledh (M.E. fe(j-] This name is commonly found in the Hundred Rolls as Ocle(e. OAKMAN (Eng.) -= Oak (q.v.) -\- man.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)