Woolley
A mostly English place-name surname that likely means “wolf clearing” or “Wolf’s meadow.”
The #5,176 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 45,747 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Woolley is usually treated as a habitational surname from one of several English places called Woolley, Woolley, or similar. The older forms given in historical sources point to Old English elements such as wulf “wolf” plus leah “woodland clearing, meadow,” though some writers also gloss the name as a crooked or bent clearing in one locale. In short, the surname most likely began as “person from Woolley,” with the place-name itself carrying an old English landscape meaning.
History
Historical surname dictionaries connect Woolley chiefly with Yorkshire and with several English localities bearing the same name. Medieval spellings vary widely, which is typical of locational surnames that developed before spelling was standardized. The name is well established in England and later appears in records in North America as well.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century writer jokingly described the surname as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” because its peaceful-looking form may hide an older wolf-based place-name.
From the historical record
“WOOLLER = Woolen, q.v. WOOLLEY 1 (Eng.) Bel. to WooUey (several) WOOLLIE J = I the Wolf-Lea [O.E.wulf+ ledh] 2 Wulf(a)'s Lea. 3 the Crooked Lea [O-E. wdh + ledh] The Wilts, place was WoJley in the 14th cent. The Yorks villagq^ was WolTey, Wollay, Wolveley in the 14th cent.,Wilvelai”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)