Blakeslee
An English place-based surname, probably from a lost or reduced place name with a ‘lea’ or meadow ending.
The #9,165 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,702 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Blakeslee is generally treated as an English locational surname. The second element is likely the Old English leah, meaning a clearing, meadow, or wood clearing. The first element is less certain: it may represent a personal name or an old descriptive term that has been obscured by later spelling changes. In other words, the name most likely began as someone’s identification with a place rather than as a nickname or occupation.
History
The surname is established in English-speaking records and is found later in North America, where it is now most familiar. The excerpt provided only shows it as a family name in a list of Yale undergraduates, so it does not add much to the etymology itself. In modern usage, Blakeslee is especially associated with the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name is close in form to several better-known English surnames ending in -ley, which often trace back to a meadow or clearing.
From the historical record
“name. Columbia College, New York, has its Prof Hackley. Among the Yale undergraduates, 1860, are Blatchley and Blakeslee. Mr. Cordingly not long since sailed from Boston in a steamer. Mr. TiNSLEY is an attorney at Amherst County, Va. Mr. Shockley sailed from New York, December, 1858. Mr. CoBLEiGH lives at Littleton…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)