Show ContentsBarlee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Barlee is a name whose history is connected to the ancient Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the Barlee family once lived in the county of Hertfordshire, where they took their name from the parish of Barley. This parish dates back to Saxon times when it known as Beranlei c. 1050. By the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, it was known as Berlai and probably meant "woodland clearing of a man called Be(o)ra," from the Old Egnlish personal name + "leah." 1

The township of Barley in Lancashire dates back to at least 1324 when it was known as Baylegh. 1 It has a similar origin but in early days had a different spelling.

Early Origins of the Barlee family

The surname Barlee was first found in Herefordshire where the Saxon name Leofric de Berle was recorded c. 975. 2 In Warwickshire, Jordan Barlie was listed there in the Assize Rolls for 1221. In Cambridgeshire, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 include William de Berele. 3

According to Reaney, Barleyman is an interesting variant. It is a "metonymy for a maker or seller of barley-bread or cakes." and in this case, Josce Barlibred who was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk for 1185 is the first entry. 2

Early History of the Barlee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barlee research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1451, 1466, 1487, 1501, 1521, 1529, 1557, 1565, 1591 and 1614 are included under the topic Early Barlee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barlee 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 Barlee family name include Barley, Barly, Barely, Barle, Barlay and others.

Early Notables of the Barlee family

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


United States Barlee migration to the United States +

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 Barlee surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Barlee Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Francis Barlee, who arrived in Virginia in 1643 4


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook