Loxlley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancient roots of the Loxlley family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Loxlley comes from when the family lived in the region of Loxley in Staffordshire. 1 Loxlley 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 Loxlley family

The surname Loxlley 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 Loxlley family

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

Loxlley Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Loxlley has appeared include Loxley, Lockley, Locksley and others.

Early Notables of the Loxlley family

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

Migration of the Loxlley family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Loxlley arrived in North America very early: Charles Lockley, who settled in Virginia in 1638; Richard Lockley, who arrived in Virginia in 1635; and 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)