Parsley
An English surname that was probably reshaped by folk etymology and may go back to an older place-name or personal-name form, not the herb itself.
The #5,508 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,891 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually treated as an English name, but its deeper origin is uncertain. One 19th-century source connects it with a place-name like Passelewe or Pashley, while another suggests a link with an older form meaning "Parr's lea"—that is, "Parr's meadow." In either case, the modern-looking spelling appears to have been influenced by the common word "parsley," a classic example of folk etymology.
History
Earlier surname dictionaries note that the name has been associated with other older surnames and place-names, especially Passelewe, Pashley, and Parslow. Some writers thought the spelling was altered because scribes and speakers were drawn to the familiar herb name, which helped stabilize the modern form. The surname remains uncommon but is well established in England and among English-descended families overseas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several older surname guides group Parsley with other names that sound like ordinary words, showing how family names can be reshaped by everyday vocabulary over time.
From the historical record
“PARSLEY (Eng.) Bel. to Parsley = (perh.) ' Par(r)'s Lea ' [v. Parr ; and -h M.E. ley, O.E. ledhl There may have been confusion with Parslow. PARSLOW (Eng.) Bel. to Parslow (? Parsloes, Essex) [O.E. hlc^w, a (burial) mound, hill : without the evidence of early forms of the name nothing definite can be said”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)