Akerly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Akerly name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in Buckinghamshire. The surname Akerly derives from the Old English word Aker-leah, which means "acre meadow owner." 1

Early Origins of the Akerly family

The surname Akerly 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 Akerly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Akerly 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 Akerly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Akerly Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Akerly were recorded, including Ackerly, Ackerley, Acerly, Akerley, Akeley, Acle, Ackle, Acley, Acly and many more.

Early Notables of the Akerly 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 Akerly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Akerly migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Akerly family emigrate to North America:

Akerly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Henry Akerly, who landed in New Haven, Connecticut in 1640 3
Robert Akerly, who arrived in Rhode Island in 1651

Citations +

Surnames from the U.S.A. and Canada. Family Name Researchers, Inc., Toronto, 1975.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
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)