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Midgley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Midgley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Midgley name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Midgley was originally derived from a family having lived in the settlement of Migley in Durham, or in the place named Midgley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Midgley 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 Midgley family

The surname Midgley was first found in West Riding of Yorkshire at Midgley, a hill-top village in Calderdale in the chapelry of Luddenden, parish and union of Halifax, wapentake of Morley. The village dates back to at least the Domesday Book when it was listed as Micleie and literally meant "wood or clearing infested with midges," from the Old English mycg + leah. 1 One branch was later found at Thornton, again in the West Riding of Yorkshire. "Leventhorpe Hall, also in the township, was the seat of a distinguished family; and at Headley is an old mansion in the Elizabethan style, in former times occupied by a branch of the Midgleys." 2

Early History of the Midgley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Midgley research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Midgley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Midgley Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Midgley include Midgley, Midgeley, Midgely, Medgley, Medgely, Medgeley and many more.

Early Notables of the Midgley family

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

Midgley Ranking

In the United States, the name Midgley is the 17,653^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Midgley migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Midgley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Midgley, who arrived in Maryland in 1675 4

Midgley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Midgley, who landed in Virginia in 1705 4

Midgley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John and Benjamin Midgley, who settled in New York in 1820
Edward and Holmes Midgley, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1868

Midgley migration to Australia +

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

Midgley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Midgley, English convict who was convicted in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5

Midgley 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:

Midgley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Midgley, aged 18, a smith, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bolton" in 1840
Mrs. Mary Ann Midgley, (b. 1835), aged 30, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 6
Mr. Benjamin Midgley, (b. 1845), aged 20, British shoemaker travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 6
Miss Martha Midgley, (b. 1847), aged 18, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 6
Miss Hannah Midgley, (b. 1862), aged 3, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Midgley (post 1700) +

Thomas Midgley Jr. (1889-1944), American mechanical engineer and chemist. member of the team that developed the tetraethyllead (TEL) additive to gasoline and some of the first chlorofluorocarbons; he held hundreds of patents and was awarded the William H. Nichols Medal (1922), the Longstreth Medal (1925), the Perkin Medal (1937), the Priestley Medal (1941) and the Willard Gibbs Award (1942)
Frederick W. Midgley, American Republican politician, Independent Republican Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from New Haven, 1932 7
Robin Midgley (1934-2007), English director in theatre, television and radio and responsible for some of the earliest episodes of Z-Cars
Craig Midgley (b. 1976), English football manager and former player who played as a striker
Hannah Elizabeth Midgley (b. 1993), English actress best known for playing Victoria Sugden on the ITV programme Emmerdale
Vernon Midgley (b. 1940), English tenor, son of the tenor Walter Midgley and the pianist Gladys Midgley
Maryetta Midgley (b. 1944), English soprano, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the daughter of operatic tenor Walter Midgley and pianist Gladys Vernon
Mary Beatrice Midgley (b. 1919), English moral philosopher
John Midgley, English Academy Award winning sound engineer
Neil Alan Midgley (b. 1978), English professional footballer
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Midgley family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Edward A Midgley, English Able Seaman from England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 8

Citations +

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.
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html