Raley
A surname most likely from a place name in Devon, originally referring to someone from Raleigh or a similar “roe-deer meadow” site.
The #5,281 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,829 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually treated as a variant of Raleigh/Ralegh, a locational name from the Devon place of Raleigh. The place name was explained in older sources as Old English ra, “roe deer,” plus leah, “woodland clearing” or “meadow,” giving the sense of a clearing frequented by roe deer. In other words, the name likely began as a label for someone who came from that place.
History
Older English records show forms such as de Ralegh, and the surname later appears in spellings like Raleigh, Rawley, and Raley. Harrison notes that the name was once commonly pronounced roughly “Raw-lee,” which helps explain some later spelling variation. The best-known bearer is Sir Walter Raleigh, whose surname helped keep the form familiar in English history.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The older pronunciation was often closer to “Raw-lee” than to the modern spelling might suggest.
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)