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Halley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Halley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The name Halley reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Halley family lived in Hawley, Somerset. The most probable derivation of this name suggests that it comes from the Old Norman word haugr, which means mound, and the Old English leah, which means clearing. Another derivation supported by some examples suggests that the name indicates tat the name is an Anglicized version of the place-name La Haule-De-Bec in Greteuil, Normandy. 1

Early Origins of the Halley family

The surname Halley was first found in Somerset, where Warin de Haulla is mentioned in 1154 and in 1165, he held a barony of eight fees in Devon. 2

Later in Yorkshire, Robert de Hallai was listed in 1166. And later again, John Hally was found in the Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire in 1230. 3

It is from this latter entry that the famed astronomer Edmund Halley (1656-1742) hailed. While he was born in London, his rich father was "a member of a good Derbyshire family, had a soap-boiling establishment in Winchester Street in the city of London." 4

Turning the clock back again, we found the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had the following entries for the family: William de Hallee, Gloucestershire; John de Hally, Derbyshire; William de Hally, Derbyshire; and John Hally, Derbyshire. 5

Indeed, "Derbyshire seems to be the home of the Halleys. " 5

The same source claims the "Haleys of Yorkshire are a different stock, but I cannot identify the locality whence they are sprung." 5

And he goes on to note that Petrus Haley, Oxfordshire was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 and that Johannes de Haylay and Willelmus Havlay were listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 5

In our opinion, making such a distinction of names that phonetically sound the same but have small spelling differences is often incongruent. Moreover, none of the other sources make this claim.

Further to the north in Scotland, the records of the family are late. "William Hally in Perth, 1666, John Hally, portioner of Balbrogo, 1700. Seventeen persons of this name are recorded in the Dunblane Commissariot Record from 1602. " 6

But this same authority postulates that the name may also be "from Hailey in Deerness, Orkney. Thomas Halle, tacksman there, 1509." 6

Early History of the Halley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Halley research. Another 99 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1340, 1350, 1374, 1390, 1393, 1394, 1401, 1402, 1404, 1408, 1509, 1511, 1557, 1603, 1629, 1644, 1645, 1646, 1650, 1656, 1673, 1679, 1684, 1690, 1694, 1695, 1702, 1705, 1716, 1719, 1742, 1743, 1759, 1772, 1790 and 1868 are included under the topic Early Halley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Halley Spelling Variations

Before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Sound was what guided spelling in the Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Halley family name include Hawley, Hawly and others.

Early Notables of the Halley family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Edmund Halley (1656-1742), the famed astronomer, was born at Haggerston, in St. Leonard's parish, Shoreditch, London, on 8 Nov. 1656. He identified what would be known as Halley's Comet in 1705, not b...

Halley Ranking

In the United States, the name Halley is the 7,330^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 7 However, in France, the name Halley is ranked the 7,529^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 8

Halley migration to the United States +

To escape the political and religious chaos of this era, thousands of English families began to migrate to the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. The passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe; however, those who made the voyage safely were encountered opportunities that were not available to them in their homeland. Many of the families that reached the New World at this time went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. Research into various historical records has revealed some of first members of the Halley family to immigrate North America:

Halley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Merciful Halley, who landed in Virginia in 1633 9

Halley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Nathaniel Halley, who arrived in Mississippi in 1798 9

Halley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Halley, aged 33, who arrived in New York in 1812 9
Abraham Halley, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 9
Ebenezer Halley, who arrived in New York in 1855 9
Ellen Halley, aged 15, who landed in New York, NY in 1855 9
John Hamilton Halley, who landed in Colorado in 1877 9

Halley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Halley Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Hawkins Halley, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
Mr. Abijah Halley U.E. who settled in Eastern District [Cornwall], Ontario c. 1784 10

Halley migration to Australia +

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

Halley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Halley, British Convict who was convicted in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 12th March 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 11

Halley 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:

Halley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. William Halley, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Storm Cloud" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 30th July 1861 12
Mrs. Halley, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Storm Cloud" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 30th July 1861 12
Child Halley, Scottish settler travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Storm Cloud" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 30th July 1861 12

Contemporary Notables of the name Halley (post 1700) +

Heather Halley, American actress and voice actress
Rudolph Halley (1913-1956), American attorney and politician
Peter Halley (b. 1953), American abstract artist from New York City
Robert Halley (1796-1876), English Congregationalist minister and abolitionist, eldest of four children of Robert Hally (sic), born at Blackheath, Kent, on 13 Aug. 1796 13
Paul Halley (b. 1952), English organist, singer, pianist, and composer
David Halley (b. 1986), English rugby league player
Edmond Halley (1656-1742), English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist, eponym and discoverer of Halley's Comet
Robert Halley (1935-2021), French politician and businessman, General Councillor of the Canton of Livarot (1991-2004)
Paul-Louis Halley (1934-2003), French businessman who part-founded the retail company Promodès
George Halley (1887-1941), Scottish professional association football player
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

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)
Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 2 of 3
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th December 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020