Contents [hide]

Barley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Barley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The lineage of the name Barley begins with the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. It is a result of when they lived in the county of Hertfordshire, where they took their name from the parish of Barley. This parish dates back to Saxon times when it known as Beranlei c. 1050. By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, it was known as Berlai and probably meant "woodland clearing of a man called Be(o)ra," from the Old Egnlish personal name + "leah." 1

The township of Barley in Lancashire dates back to at least 1324 when it was known as Baylegh. 1 It has a similar origin but in early days had a different spelling.

Early Origins of the Barley family

The surname Barley was first found in Herefordshire where the Saxon name Leofric de Berle was recorded c. 975. 2 In Warwickshire, Jordan Barlie was listed there in the Assize Rolls for 1221. In Cambridgeshire, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include William de Berele. 3

According to Reaney, Barleyman is an interesting variant. It is a "metonymy for a maker or seller of barley-bread or cakes." and in this case, Josce Barlibred who was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk for 1185 is the first entry. 2

Early History of the Barley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barley research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1451, 1466, 1487, 1501, 1521, 1529, 1557, 1565, 1591 and 1614 are included under the topic Early Barley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barley Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Barley has undergone many spelling variations, including Barley, Barly, Barely, Barle, Barlay and others.

Early Notables of the Barley family

Notables of the family at this time include

William Barley (1451-1521) of Albury, Hertfordshire...
His daughter Dorothy Barley (died 1557), was the last Abbess of Barking Abbey...
William Barley (1565?-1614), was an English bookseller and publisher who spent most of his working life in legal disputes with other publishers...

Barley Ranking

In the United States, the name Barley is the 9,745^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Barley migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Barley were among those contributors:

Barley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anthony Barley who settled in Virginia in 1653
Antho Barley, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 5
Elizabeth Barley, who arrived in America in 1654 5
Ann Barley, who landed in Maryland in 1665 5
Katherine Barley, who landed in Maryland in 1670 5

Barley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Barley, who arrived in America in 1764 5

Barley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Barley, aged 40, who landed in North Carolina in 1812 5
O Barley, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
Samuel Barley, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1859
Melchoir Barley, who arrived in West Virginia in 1861 5
Henry Barley, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1878 5

Barley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Barley Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Frederick Barley, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749

Barley migration to Australia +

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

Barley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Richard Barley, aged 29, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Osceola" 6

Barley migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Barley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Barley, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th February 1856 7
Mrs. Eliza Barley, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th February 1856 7
Miss Helen Barley, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th February 1856 7
Miss Matilda Barley, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Oriental" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 25th February 1856 7
Mr. Johnston Barley, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Kenilworth" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 2nd May 1857 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Barley migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Barley Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Barley, who settled in Barbados in 1654

Contemporary Notables of the name Barley (post 1700) +

John E. Barley (b. 1945), American Republican politician, Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1985-2002) 10
Les Barley (b. 1967), American former Arena Football League fullback and linebacker
Stephen R. Barley (b. 1953), American organizational theorist
Larry Barley, American Republican politician, Member of Michigan Republican State Central Committee, 1979 10
E. V. Barley, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Virginia, 1912 10
Betty Barley, American Republican politician, Member of Michigan Republican State Central Committee, 1957-59; Candidate for Presidential Elector for Michigan, 1960 10
Nigel Barley (b. 1947), English anthropologist and author
Jack Charles Barley (b. 1887), English cricketer for Oxford University (1909), Worcestershire (1908) and Sussex (1908)
Bryan Barley (b. 1960), former England international rugby union centre
Maurice Willmore "M.W." Barley (1909-1991), English historian and archaeologist, Professor of Archaeology
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) OSCEOLA / ASCEOLA 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Osceola-Asceola.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 21) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html