Handley

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A proper name borne by families and also given to certain English villages and localities
2. Refers to a surname of English origin as well as to places bearing this name in England
3. A family name of English origin that is also used for several small towns and villages

Etymology: Handley is an English surname and the name of several English places, so it is best understood as a place-name rather than a common word. Its ending, "-ley," comes from Old English "lēah," meaning a clearing or a wood, which appears in thousands of English place-names. The first part is less certain to scholars, so the meaning of the whole name is not settled. As a surname, it most likely began as a locative name, given to someone who came from or lived by a place of that name. Surnames of this kind were common from the medieval period onward, when people were often identified by where they lived.