Skelley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Skelley family

The surname Skelley was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Skeleron in Rimington. 1

Rimington, a large village in the West Riding was held at the time of the taking of the Domesday Book in 1086 by William, Lord Percy, perhaps the most powerful Norman Baron of the Northland. At that time, the village was known as Renitone, but by 1182, it was known as Rimingtona. 2 Conjecturally, the Skelhorns are descended from either a son, nephew or other close relative of this Baron.

Early rolls proved the wide use of different spellings at the time: John Scalehome was listed in 1467 and Peter Skelhorne was later listed in 1574. 1

Early History of the Skelley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Skelley research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1459, 1467, 1574, 1845 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Skelley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Skelley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Skelhorn, Skellern, Skellorn, Skillern, Skillen, Skillan, Skilland, Skellon, Skilling, Skillim and many more.

Early Notables of the Skelley family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Skellorn of Yorkshire. According to legend, William Skelhorn was a blacksmith of Mucklestone, Staffordshire who assisted in the escape of Queen Margaret of Anjou from the Battle...
Another 35 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Skelley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Skelley Ranking

In the United States, the name Skelley is the 15,340^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the Skelley family to Ireland

Some of the Skelley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 94 words (7 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Skelley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Skelley Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

James Skelley, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749

Skelley migration to Australia +

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

Skelley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Ann Skelley, English convict from Lancaster, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on December 14, 1835, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 4
Mr. John Skelley who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 1st October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Skelley (post 1700) +

Caroline Skelley, birth name of Caroline Spector, an American science fiction and fantasy writer
Arrin Skelley (b. 1966), American voice actor, best known for being the voice actor of Charlie Brown in You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown, It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown, and She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown
John E. Skelley, American politician, Farmer-Labor Candidate for New York State Assembly from Steuben County 2nd District, 1922 6
Eleanor Skelley, American Democratic Party politician, Bookkeeper; Candidate for New York State Assembly from Columbia County, 1952 6

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1835 with 132 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1835
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html