Valley
A topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a valley.
The #7,402 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 68,656 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually a straightforward topographic name from Middle English and Old English words for a valley or low-lying hollow. In England, surnames of this type often began as bynames for someone who lived “in the valley” or came from a place described that way. The name is closely related to a whole family of surnames built from the same landscape term, such as Dale, Dean, and Combe.
History
As a surname, Valley is an English topographic name rather than a major clan or occupational surname. It likely arose independently in more than one place, since many small settlements and local features could be described simply as a valley. The spelling has been fairly stable, though historically some related names and place-names appear in older forms like dale, dean, and combe.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Many English surnames that look like ordinary place words started as directions for where a person lived, so Valley is one of the most literal surnames imaginable.
From the historical record
“MARDEN (Eng.) Bel., to Marden = i the , Pool- Valley [O.E. mere, a pool 4- denui a valley] 2 the Boundary- Valley [Q.E. m(&re, a boundary]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)