Medley
A mainly English locational surname, most likely from a place or field name meaning “middle meadow” or “meadow pasture.”
The #2,641 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 22,652 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Medley is usually explained as an English place-name surname. The name seems to come from Old English elements meaning “middle” and “meadow/clearing,” so the literal sense is something like “middle field” or “meadow pasture.” Some 19th-century writers also suggested a connection with a mead- or meadow-land form, and a few speculated about an ornamental link to “medley-coat,” but the place-name explanation is the standard one.
History
The surname appears in English records by the 16th century and was treated by several surname scholars as local or topographical. Bardsley specifically glossed it as a residence by the middle field or meadow pasture, and later writers such as Harrison and Barber also grouped it among local names. It remains relatively uncommon, but is well established in Britain and the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A single surname entry in older books could be cross-referenced under multiple spellings, which is why Medley and Meadley were often treated together.
From the historical record
“Land [O.E. mckd + land] ,'MEDLEY i(Eng.) Bel. to Medley = i the .' Meadow-Field [O.E. mdkd + ledh, a field] ' 2 (for Midley) the Middle Lea [O.E. midd -t- ledh]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)