Motley
An English surname most likely from a place-name, though some writers also linked it to a nickname for something variegated or brightly dressed.
The #3,480 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 30,051 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest early evidence treats Motley as a locational surname, probably from a now-lost or hard-to-identify place-name ending in Old English -lēah, meaning a clearing or meadow. One early explanation connects it to a name like Mote-lea or Mote-low, suggesting a settlement near a meeting place or mound. Other writers associated the name with the Anglo-French and Middle English word for a many-coloured or speckled appearance, so a nickname sense is also possible.
History
The name is recorded in medieval English forms such as de Mollawe, de Motlawe, and de Motlawe, which support a place-based origin. By the 19th century, surname dictionaries were still debating whether the name came from a lost locality or from the descriptive word motley. In later use it became established as an ordinary English surname, and is now best known in the United States from modest but steady bearers.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century source explicitly said the place behind the surname could not be found, showing how some English surnames preserve vanished local names.
From the historical record
“MOTLEY (A.-Fr.) a nickname [cp. M.E. mottelye, &c., a dress of many colours] (Fr. + E.) Dweller at i the Mote- Lea [v. under Mote », and -|- M.E. ley, O.E, ledh] 2 the Mote-Low [M.E. low(e, law{e, O.E. hldew, a hill, (burial) mound] Thomas de RJotlawe. —”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)