Brumley
An English-style surname that likely began as a place-based name, probably meaning someone from a brook- or broom-covered clearing.
The #4,983 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 43,819 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Brumley is usually treated as a habitational surname, formed from a place name rather than from a personal trait or occupation. The first element is commonly explained from Old English or Middle English words associated with broom or bramble growth, while the second element likely refers to a clearing, meadow, or woodland opening. In practical terms, the name would have meant something like "one from the broomy clearing" or a similar landscape feature.
History
The surname is found in English and later American records, where it appears in several spelling forms. Because the surviving excerpt only mentions the name in passing, the exact original place behind it is not certain, and later surname use may reflect more than one local source. It is now most familiar in the United States, where it has persisted as a relatively uncommon surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Names ending in -ley often began as place names, which is why Brumley is usually read as a landscape surname rather than a personal nickname.
From the historical record
“Brood Brumley Brumidge College”
— A Glossary of Dialectal Place-Nomenclature, with a list of family names