Brearley
English
Etymology
From Old English brēr (“briar”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to briar + -ley (“lea”).
Proper noun
Brearley (countable and uncountable, plural Brearleys)
- A hamlet in Hebden Royd parish, Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE0225).
- A habitational surname from Old English.
Statistics
- According to the 2010 United States Census, Brearley is the 40313th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 543 individuals. Brearley is most common among White (94.29%) individuals.
Further reading
- Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Brearley”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 220.
References
- Survey of English Place-Names