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Shockley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Shockley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Shockley family

The surname Shockley was first found in Lancashire at Shakerley, which is now a suburb of Tyldesley in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. Shakerley is derived from the Old English words "sceacere" + "leah" and literally meant "robbers woodland glade or clearing." 1 2

This property 'formerly almost exclusively the property of the Shakerleys of Somerford in Cheshire. The site of the hall is marked by a moat, and continued to be the residence of the Shakerleys till the middle of the last century.' 3

The earliest record of the place name was Shakerlee in 1210. Adam de Shakerley was the first of the name living in the area about 1200. Later, Henry de Shakresleghe, de Shakerleghe was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Lancashire in 1332. 4

Early History of the Shockley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Shockley research. Another 139 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1610, 1631, 1650 and 1651 are included under the topic Early Shockley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shockley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Shakerley, Shackerly, Shackerley, Shack and many more.

Early Notables of the Shockley family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Jeremy Shakerley (fl. 1650), English astronomer and mathematician, was author of 'The Anatomy of Urania Practica,' or a short Mathematical Discourse. "Shakerley's chief claim to distinction is as the second observer of the transit of Mercury. The first transit was observed in 1631. According to...
Another 52 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Shockley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Shockley Ranking

In the United States, the name Shockley is the 2,170^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 5

Shockley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Shockley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

W. A. Shockley, aged 32, who immigrated to the United States from London, in 1892

Shockley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William H. Shockley, aged 47, who landed in America, in 1903
Alice MacLaughlin Shockley, who landed in America, in 1903
Ottilie Shockley, aged 39, who settled in America, in 1904
A. Amy Shockley, aged 4, who immigrated to the United States from Wigan, England, in 1907
Hugh Shockley, aged 29, who settled in America, in 1910
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Shockley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Shockley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

James Shockley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Phoebe" in 1847 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Shockley (post 1700) +

Private First Class William R Shockley (1918-1945), United States Army soldier, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1945 for his actions in World War II.
Dr. Dolores C. Shockley (1930-2020), the first black woman to receive a PhD in Pharmacology in the United States
William Shockley (b. 1963), American actor and musician
Arnold Shockley, American professional football player
Marian Shockley (1911-1981), American film actress
John Costen Shockley (b. 1942), former Major League Baseball first baseman
Donald Eugene "D. J." Shockley (b. 1983), American football quarterback
William Bradford Shockley (1910-1989), American physicist and inventor, co-inventor of the transistor, recipient of the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics
William P. Shockley, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Bordeaux, 1917; Genoa, 1919-21, 1929-32; Turin, 1926; Gothenberg, 1938
Tom A. Shockley, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Missouri State House of Representatives from Pulaski County, 1935-38, 1949-52
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Shockley Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Antiquum Obtinens
Motto Translation: Possessing our ancient honour.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Baines Thomas & William Fairbairn, Lancashire and Cheshire, Past and Present History of Counties London: William MacKenzie, 1867, Digital, 4 vols
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PHOEBE 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847Phoebe.htm