Show ContentsAdderley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Anglo-Saxon name Adderley comes from when the family resided in the village of Adderley in Shropshire [1]; the village was known as "Eldredelei" in the Domesday Book and was held by Nigel the Doctor. [2]

One source notes a Norman connection to the family: "The name was derived from Doussainville, between Paris and Orleans. This family of De Dunstanville continued barons of Adderley in 1255. Henry de Adderley, a younger son, occurs in Staffordshire, 13th century [3], and 1310 Robert de Adderle is mentioned [4]. The usage of those ages restricted the name of the barony to the family of its lords." [5]

Early Origins of the Adderley family

The surname Adderley was first found in Shropshire at Adderley, a village and civil parish that literally means "woodland clearing of a woman called Athryth," from the Old English personal name + "leah." [6]

Early History of the Adderley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Adderley research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1637 is included under the topic Early Adderley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Adderley Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Adderley include Adderley, Adderly, Addly, Adley, Aderly, Atherly, Atherley, Hadderley and many more.

Early Notables of the Adderley family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Sir Charles Adderley


United States Adderley migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Adderley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • John Adderley, who landed in Edenton, North Carolina in 1724 [7]
  • John Adderley who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1734

Australia Adderley migration to Australia +

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

Adderley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr.Thomas Adderley, (b. 1769), aged 50, Irish boiler maker who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Bencoolen" on 24th April 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia before being transferred to Tasmania via the "Admiral Cockburn" [8]

Contemporary Notables of the name Adderley (post 1700) +

  • Herbert Anthony Adderley (1939-2020), American professional football player, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980
  • Herbert Allen "Herb" Adderley (1939-1961), American former NFL football cornerback who played from 1961 to 1972
  • Nathaniel "Nat" Adderley (1931-2000), American jazz cornet and trumpet player
  • Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (1928-1975), American jazz alto saxophonist, best remembered for his 1966 single "Mercy Mercy Mercy", brother of Nat Adderley
  • John Arden Adderley (1915-1993), 7th Baron Norton of Norton-on-the-Moors, Stafford, English peer
  • Hubert Bowyer Arden Adderley (1886-1961), 6th Baron Norton of Norton-on-the-Moors, Stafford, English peer
  • Henry Arden Adderley (1854-1945), 5th Baron Norton of Norton-on-the-Moors, Stafford, English peer
  • Ronald Wollstan Fleetwood Adderley (1885-1944), 4th Baron Norton of Norton-on-the-Moors, Stafford, English peer
  • Ralph Bowyer Adderley (1872-1933), 3rd Baron Norton of Norton-on-the-Moors, Stafford, English peer
  • Thomas Arthur "Tommy" Adderley (1940-1993), English-born, New Zealand singer
  • ... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  3. Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
  4. Palgrave, Sir Francis F.R.S., F.S.A. History of the Anglo-Saxons. London: William Tegg, 1871, Print.
  5. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  6. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  7. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 5th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bencoolen


Houseofnames.com on Facebook