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Wakley is a name that was brought to England by the ancestors of the Wakley family when they migrated to the region after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The Wakley family lived in Hertfordshire, at the manor of Wakely.
The surname Wakley was first found in Hertfordshire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, conjecturally the family were descended from Ralph of Wakely, a Norman noble, who held his lands from Count Allan and was thus reflected in the Domesday Book Survey of 1086 A.D.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wakley research. Another 67 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1600 is included under the topic Early Wakley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Wakley, Wakeley, Wakely, Wakelie, Wakelee, Weakley, Wakerley and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Wakley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Many English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Wakley or a variant listed above: