Lockly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The name Lockly has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in the region of Loxley in Staffordshire. 1 Lockly is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads.

Early Origins of the Lockly family

The surname Lockly was first found in Staffordshire at Loxley, a liberty, in the parish and union of Uttoxeter, S. division of the hundred of Totmonslow. Alternatively the family could have originated in the parish of Loxley in Warwickshire. The latter was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Locheslei 2 and literally meant "woodland clearing of a man called "Locc," from the Old English personal name + "leah." 3 Interestingly, "Charles I. slept at the old mansion-house of Loxley the night before the battle of Edge-Hill, and many of those who were slain in the engagement were buried in the churchyard here." 4

Richard de Lokesley, taillour, temp. 14 Edward III was listed in the Freemen of York and the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Thomas de Lokeslay. 5

John de Lokkesleye was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275 and a few years later, John de Loxelegh was listed in the Feet of Fines for Surrey (1315-1316.) 6

Early History of the Lockly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lockly research. Another 91 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1180 is included under the topic Early Lockly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lockly Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Lockly have been found, including Loxley, Lockley, Locksley and others.

Early Notables of the Lockly family

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

Lockly migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Lockly, or a variant listed above:

Lockly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Tho Lockly, who arrived in Virginia in 1639 7
Joseph Lockly, who arrived in Virginia in 1651

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)