Wheatley
A place-based English surname meaning someone from a wheat field or wheat meadow.
The #2,875 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,660 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wheatley comes from Old English words meaning "wheat" plus "woodland clearing" or "meadow/field" in place-name usage, so the name originally pointed to a place associated with wheat-growing. It is tied to several English localities called Wheatley or similar, rather than to the surname being a direct description of a person. Earlier spellings varied widely, which is normal for medieval English place-names.
History
The surname is found in records from several parts of England, especially Oxfordshire and Yorkshire, and medieval spellings include forms such as Wateleie, Whetleye, and Whatley. Later surname dictionaries treated it as a common locational name from multiple villages and hamlets called Wheatley. In the modern era it remained established as an English surname and spread widely to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name appears in several different English places, which is why old records show a surprising range of spellings for the same surname.
From the historical record
“sure where wheat grows." WHEATLEY. Parislies and places in cos. Oxon, Lancaster, Nottingham, &c. WHEATSTONE. See Whetstone, WHEEL, Wheal (huelj is the Cornish word for a mine, as Wheal Mary, Wheal WHI”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Wheatley
- Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.