Raleigh
An English surname most likely from a place-name meaning “roe-deer meadow,” famously associated with Sir Walter Raleigh.
The #8,317 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 77,496 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Raleigh is generally understood as a locational surname from an English place-name, especially Raleigh in Devon. The name is usually explained from Old English words meaning “roe deer” and “woodland clearing or meadow,” so the literal sense is something like “roe-deer lea/clearing.” Some 19th-century writers also connected it with a specific Devonshire family and with a local town or village name, but the place-name explanation is the most widely accepted.
History
Medieval records show forms such as de Ralegh in Devon, which fits a normal English habit of naming people after where they lived or came from. The surname became especially well known through the Devon family that produced Sir Walter Raleigh and Bishop William Raleigh. Historical writers also note that it was once commonly pronounced “Rawley,” which helps explain later spelling variants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older sources specifically remark that Raleigh was formerly pronounced “Rawley.”
From the historical record
“RALEGH "I (Eng.) Bel. to Raleigh (S. Devon, RALEIGH \ etc.); or Dweller at the Roe-Lea RALEY J [O.E. rd, a roe + ledh, a lea] Hugh de Ralegh. — Hund. Rolls (Devon). This name (as is well known) was formerly pronounced Rawly — Sir Walter Rawleigh was one, that (it seems) Fortune had pickt out of purpose, of whom to…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)