Oakleigh

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A residential suburb located in the city of Melbourne in the Australian state of Victoria
2. A suburban locality in the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
3. A place name referring to a residential district within the Melbourne region of southeastern Australia

Etymology: Oakleigh is a place-name-derived surname and given name, a variant of Oakley. Its meaning is transparent: it combines Old English "āc", meaning oak, with "lēah", meaning a woodland clearing or glade. The name therefore describes a clearing in an oak forest, and the spelling with "-leigh" reflects the same "lea" element that appears in many English place-names. The "-leigh" ending is simply a respelling of "lea," so the name is best understood as oak plus lea. Many English surnames began as descriptions of a landscape, and Oakley and Oakleigh are typical examples: a family living near a glade in an oak wood might be known by that feature.