Show ContentsCarsley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Carsley belongs to the early history of Britain, it's origins lie with the Anglo-Saxons. It is a product of their having lived in the settlement of Kearsley in Lancashire. The surname Carsley belongs to the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Carsley family

The surname Carsley was first found in Lancashire at Kearsley, now part of Greater Manchester. The first records of the place were found in 1187 when it was spelt Cherselawe and a few years later as Kereleie (c. 1220. ) The name literally means "clearing where cress grows" having derived from the Old English words caerse + leah. 1 There is another Kearsley, a township in the parish of Stamfordham, in Northumberland, but this township has remained rather small in comparison as a census in the late 1800s listed only 11 inhabitants, while the former township in Lancashire had 3,436 inhabitants in the same census.

Early History of the Carsley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carsley research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1210 is included under the topic Early Carsley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carsley Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Carsley include Kearsley, Kearsey, Keasley, Kersley and others.

Early Notables of the Carsley family

More information is included under the topic Early Carsley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Carsley migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Carsley were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Carsley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Henrie Carsley, aged 23, who landed in Virginia in 1621 2
  • Henry Carsley, aged 23, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 aboard the ship "Providence" 2
  • William Carsley, who landed in Hingham, Massachusetts in 1637 2
Carsley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Joseph Carsley, who settled in Maryland in 1774


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. 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)


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