Show ContentsAckerly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Ackerly

What does the name Ackerly mean?

The ancient roots of the Ackerly family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Ackerly comes from when the family lived in Buckinghamshire. The surname Ackerly derives from the Old English word Aker-leah, which means "acre meadow owner." 1

Early Origins of the Ackerly family

The surname Ackerly was first found in Buckinghamshire, where they held a family seat from ancient times. The name literally mane "dweller at the Acre-Lea, i.e., a common field divided into plots of various sizes. [Middle English aker, Old English aecer, a division of land +M.E. ley, Old English leah, a lea, field]." 2

Early History of the Ackerly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ackerly research. Another 245 words (18 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1273, 1300, 1500, 1610, 1665, 1685, 1691, 1721, 1725, 1740 and 1769 are included under the topic Early Ackerly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ackerly 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 Ackerly has appeared include Ackerly, Ackerley, Acerly, Akerley, Akeley, Acle, Ackle, Acley, Acly and many more.

Early Notables of the Ackerly family

Distinguished members of the family include Roger Acherley (1665?-1740), Welsh lawyer, constitutional writer, and politician, the son and heir of John Acherley of Stanwardine, or Stottesden, Shropshire, where he was the representative of a long-established family. Roger was admitted a student of the Inner Temple on 6 March 1685, and called to the bar on 24 May 1691. For some years Acherley was engaged in disputing the will of Thomas Vernon, who died in 1721, by...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ackerly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Ackerly migration to the United States +

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 Ackerly arrived in North America very early:

Ackerly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Henry Ackerly, who landed in New Haven, Connecticut in 1640 3
Ackerly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • George Ackerly, who landed in New York, NY in 1836 3
  • Joseph Ackerly to Philadelphia in 1865

Ackerly migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Ackerly Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Ackerly (post 1700) +

  • Nathaniel S. Ackerly, American Republican politician, Delegate to New York State Constitutional Convention 1st District, 1894 5
  • Harry E. Ackerly, American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from New York County 15th District, 1909 5
  • David Ackerly (b. 1960), former Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne and North Melbourne from 1979 to 1989
  • David Ackerly (b. 1960), Australian footballer
  • Leone Ackerly Hinzman, American founder, CEO and Chairman of Mini Maid Service Co. Inc


  1. Surnames from the U.S.A. and Canada. Family Name Researchers, Inc., Toronto, 1975.
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. 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)
  4. 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
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, August 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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