Polley
Polley is most likely a place-based surname, though some 19th-century sources also linked it to Paul or to Cornish place-names.
The #7,042 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,917 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Polley has several proposed origins in older surname books. One line of explanation treats it as a locational name, from places such as Polwhele or Poilley in France. Other writers connected it loosely with Paul or with Cornish place-names beginning with pol-, a word often associated with a pool or hollow. The evidence is mixed, so the safest summary is that Polley is probably a place-based surname with multiple possible local roots.
History
The name appears in English records by the 16th century, and later turn-ups in London suggest an established surname in England. Some Victorian and early 20th-century authorities disagreed over whether it was English, Cornish, or French in origin, which is typical of surnames that crossed regions and spelling traditions. In the United States, Polley has remained an uncommon but persistent surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century author specifically traced Polley to Poilley in the French province of Orléans, while others preferred a Cornish or English explanation.
From the historical record
“(-land:v. Polla(cyk. POLLEY I for Pawley, Pauley, q.v. 2 a weak form of Pooley, q.v. POLLINGER, an unvoiced form of Bollinger = Bullinger, q.v. POLLMAN, a weak form of Poolman, q.v. POLLOCK ) (A.-Lat.) = Paul . (q.v.) + the POLLOK S E. dim. suff. -ock [O.E. -oc\ (Celt.) Dweller at i the Place of Holes”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)