Wheatley (surname)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As a surname Wheatley means From the wheat meadow in Anglo Saxon.

Alternative spellings include Wheatly, Whatley, Whitley, and Wheatleigh. Whether this is an association of work, or of origin, is debatable. It seems safe to say that if someone originated from a place where wheat was grown, then they probably farmed it at some point in time. However, it is true that "de Wheatley" (of Wheatley) was in use from around the 12th century, and ascribed to some of those that came from the town of Wheatley in Oxfordshire, which was founded around 956 AD. There was a reference to the town in the Millennium Information booklet, published in England. It was also around the 12th century that the custom of adopting a father's name, or his profession, as a surname, became more prevalent.

Other theories ascribe to the belief that most of the ancestry comes from a John Wheatland, who was a very wealthy land owner in Surrey. The Wheatland name was then corrupted into Wheatley, Wheatleigh, and in some cases Wheatly.

[edit] See also

• Whateley