ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1556 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1556 ************************************ From: "Brian M. Scott" 6 Feb 1999 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked about the history of the name . is a locative surname, i.e., one derived from a place-name. There are at least seven places in England from which the name can derive. I give them here in both their modern forms and some of their attested medieval forms [1]: Henley on Thames (Oxfordshire): 1186, 1192, 1219, 1224 Henley (Suffolk): 1086, 1219, 1242 Henley (Somerset, near Wearne): 973, 1243 Henley (Somerset, near Crewkerne): c.1300 Henley (Surrey): 675, 1062, 1086 Henley in Arden (Warwickshire): temp. Henry II, 1285, 1378 Henley (Shropshire): > DB, 1242, 1255 The Shropshire name is from Old English 'a hen, especially of wild birds, a water-hen' and 'a wood, a woodland glade, a clearing in a wood (man-made but rough, or developed for pasture or arable)', later 'a piece of open land, a meadow'. [2] Their early forms indicate that the Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and Warwickshire place-names have a different derivation, from , the dative case of Old English 'high wood or glade'. The early forms of the Somerset and Surrey place-names are compatible with either derivation, but the local topography suggests that they too are from . Early bearers of the name would generally have been people who came from one of these places (or some lost place with the same name). Some examples are 1181 and 1270. In the case of 1273, 1273, and 1327 we might even guess which places were involved, since these names were recorded in the counties of Shropshire, Warwickshire, and Somerset, respectively. In the later case of 1392, however, we cannot be sure whether the name indicated actual place of origin or was inherited; the latter is perhaps more likely. [3, 4] You also asked about coats of arms associated with the name. As Josh Mittleman already told you, this part of your question is outside our remit. Some of the widespread misunderstandings about the relationship of arms to families are addressed in the rec.heraldry FAQ at http://www.heraldica.org/questions.htm Just as a curiosity, however, I turned up the following armories [5]: In 1262/3 a John of Henleg' used a seal showing either an eagle displayed or a fleur-de-lis in a bordure charged with five roundels. In 1250 a Iohannes de Henleye used a seal showing a bordure charged with eight roundels. Whether the byname was hereditary at that early date or not, whether there were any descendants to use these arms, and indeed whether this is one person or two are questions that we cannot answer. I hope that this letter has been useful and that you'll not hesitate to write again if you have any further questions. For the Academy, Brian M. Scott ===== References: [1] Ekwall, Eilert. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, 4th ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989); s.nn. Henley on Thames, Henley. [2] Smith, A.H. English Place-Name Elements, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956); s.vv. henn, leah. [3] Reaney, P.H. & R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (London: Routledge, 1991); s.n. Henley. [4] Bardsley, Charles W. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980); s.n. Henley. [5] Woodcock, Thomas, Janet Grant, & Ian Graham. Dictionary of British Arms, vol II (The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1996); pp. 160, 201.