Farley
A habitational surname meaning “from one of several places called Farley,” literally a “fern clearing” or “fair clearing” in Old English place-name elements.
The #898 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,014 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Farley is a habitational surname, taken from places called Farley in several English counties. The name is usually explained from Old English elements such as fearn ‘fern’ plus leah ‘woodland clearing,’ giving the sense “fern clearing.” In some place-name traditions, the first element is linked instead to a word for ‘fair’ or ‘pleasant,’ but the fern-clearing explanation is the standard one.
History
The surname arose independently in more than one English locality, so different Farley families may not share a single ancestor. Historical surname dictionaries list Farley among names drawn from places in counties such as Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Staffordshire, Somerset, Bedfordshire, and Shropshire. It later spread to Ireland and especially to English-speaking countries through migration, which helps explain its presence in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Farley comes from multiple place-names, two unrelated people with the surname can both be “right” about the family name’s local origin.
From the historical record
“quharson. FARLEY. FARLEIGH. Parishes and places in cos. Hants,' Wilts, Surrey, Staf- ford, Somerset, Bedford, and Kent. FARLOW. A chapelry in Staffordshire. FARM. From residence at one. FARMAN. See Fairman. Farman or Fai-mannus is however personal in Domesd. FARiMAR. FARMER. See Fermor.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom