Riley (surname)

Riley is a surname of English or Irish origin.

The English version has the meaning "rye clearing", or is from a place name of which there is more than one occurrence; locations include Lancashire (specifically High Riley in Accrington) and Devon.[1][2] In the United Kingdom Census 1881, more than a third of Rileys were in Lancashire; it was most prevalent in the east of the county and over the boundary into the Calder Valley in Yorkshire, and the name could be found in these areas from the 13th century.[3]

The Irish version is a form of the surname O'Reilly.[1] This is derived from the first name Raghallach; the Gaelic version of the surname, Ó Raghallaigh, is Irish for 'grandson (or descendent) of Raghallach'.

Notable people with the surname include:

Fictional people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bardsley, Charles Wareing (1901). A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames. Henry Frowde. p. 647. ISBN 9785871144015.
  2. ↑ Seary, E.; Kirwin, William; Lynch, Sheila M. P. (1998). Kirwin, William, ed. Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 445. ISBN 9780773517820.
  3. ↑ Redmonds, George; King, Turi; Hey, David (2011). Surnames, DNA, and Family History. OUP Oxford. pp. 74–75. ISBN 9780199582648.
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