Lilley
Usually a locational surname, originally meaning someone from Lilley in Hertfordshire or another place called Lilly/Lilley.
The #4,557 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 39,685 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Lilley is most commonly treated as a place-name surname. The historical sources point to Lilley, Hertfordshire, and also to another small place called Lilly in Berkshire, as the likely sources of the surname. The place-name itself is generally connected with the lily flower, though older writers sometimes also considered links with the French place-name Lille or with heraldic imagery.
History
Medieval records show early bearers in southern England, which fits a local-origin surname. In some cases the name may also have been influenced by the given name Lilian or by later spelling variation with Lily and Lilly. The surname remains relatively uncommon but is well established in Britain and in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries note that Lilley can overlap with several similar names, so not every family with the surname necessarily shares the same origin.
From the historical record
“Geoffrey LlUoo, co. BcdT, 1173. A. (a) Local, 'of Lilley.'aparishin CO. Hertf., four miles from Luton. (3) Local, 'of Lilly,' a hamlet in (be parish of Catmore, co. Berks. My two first instances occur in the neighbourhood.”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances