Aterly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Aterly is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the village of Adderley in Shropshire [1]; the village was known as "Eldredelei" in the Domesday Book and was held by Nigel the Doctor. [2]

One source notes a Norman connection to the family: "The name was derived from Doussainville, between Paris and Orleans. This family of De Dunstanville continued barons of Adderley in 1255. Henry de Adderley, a younger son, occurs in Staffordshire, 13th century [3], and 1310 Robert de Adderle is mentioned [4]. The usage of those ages restricted the name of the barony to the family of its lords." [5]

Early Origins of the Aterly family

The surname Aterly was first found in Shropshire at Adderley, a village and civil parish that literally means "woodland clearing of a woman called Athryth," from the Old English personal name + "leah." [6]

Early History of the Aterly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aterly research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 163 and 1637 are included under the topic Early Aterly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aterly Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Aterly family name include Adderley, Adderly, Addly, Adley, Aderly, Atherly, Atherley, Hadderley and many more.

Early Notables of the Aterly family (pre 1700)

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

Migration of the Aterly family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Aterly surname or a spelling variation of the name include: John Adderley who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1734; Edward Adderly settled in Philadelphia in 1760; Susanna Atherley settled in Virginia in 1768.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
Palgrave, Sir Francis F.R.S., F.S.A. History of the Anglo-Saxons. London: William Tegg, 1871, Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)