ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1556
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1556
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From: "Brian M. Scott" 
6 Feb 1999

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You asked about the history of the name <Henley>.

<Henley> 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): <Heanlea> 1186, <Hanlea> 1192,
    <Henleg> 1219, <Hanleya> 1224

    Henley (Suffolk): <Henleia> 1086, <Hanley> 1219, <Henleye> 1242

    Henley (Somerset, near Wearne): <Henleighe> 973, <Henlegh> 1243

    Henley (Somerset, near Crewkerne): <Henley> c.1300

    Henley (Surrey): <Henlea> 675, 1062, <Henlei> 1086

    Henley in Arden (Warwickshire): <Henlea> temp. Henry II,
    <Hanleye> 1285, <Henleye in Ardern> 1378

    Henley (Shropshire): <Haneleu> > DB, <Hennele> 1242, <Henneleg>
    1255

The Shropshire name is from Old English <henn> 'a hen, especially of
wild birds, a water-hen' and <leah> '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
<hean-lea(ge)>, the dative case of Old English <hea-leah> '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 <hean-lea(ge)>.

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  <Gilbert de Henlega> 1181 and <Robert de Henlay>
1270.  In the case of <Philipp de Henelegg'> 1273, <John de
Heneleye> 1273, and <John de Heneleghe> 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 <William Heneley> 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

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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.