Lemley
A surname most likely from a place-name or a variant of another older English surname, now best known in the United States.
The #7,162 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,113 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lemley is most likely an English locational surname, built from an old place-name ending in -ley, meaning a clearing, meadow, or woodland glade. The first element is less certain and may preserve an older personal name, topographic term, or local dialect form. In some cases, surnames like this can also arise as spelling variants of similar names such as Lamley or Lymley, so the exact root is not always clear.
History
The surname appears in modern records chiefly in the United States, where it is relatively uncommon. Like many English-style surnames with uncertain place-name origins, it may reflect a family line that adopted or standardized the name after migration and later spelling change. The name does not have a single universally accepted derivation in the reference literature, so local family history can matter a great deal.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The -ley ending is one of the most productive elements in English place-based surnames, usually signaling land rather than lineage.