Beckly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Beckly is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived in Sussex and Buckinghamshire. 1 The Beckly surname is a habitational name derived from any of various places named Beckley, such as those in Kent, Oxfordshire, and Sussex. The place name Beckley comes from the Old English name becca with the Old English word leah, meaning a clearing in the forest. 2

Early Origins of the Beckly family

The surname Beckly was first found in Suffolk where Ralph de Beckele was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for 1211. Later, Richard de Beckele was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327 and later again, John Beklay was listed as a Freeman of York in 1446. 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings for the family: Thomas de Beckelegh, Oxfordshire; and Henry de Beckcle, Oxfordshire. 4

Early History of the Beckly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beckly research. Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1291, 1438, 1622, 1661, 1689 and 1753 are included under the topic Early Beckly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beckly Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Beckly has been recorded under many different variations, including Beckley, Beckly, Bistley, Bickley and others.

Early Notables of the Beckly family

Distinguished members of the family include William Beckley (died 1438), an English Carmelite, born in Kent, probably in the neighbourhood of Sandwich, where he appears to have entered the order of the Carmelites in early life. While still young he proceeded to Cambridge, where the Carmelites had a house since the year 1291. Here he seems to have taken his doctor's degree in divinity, and to have established a considerable reputation as a theologian. Bale...
Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beckly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beckly migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Beckly or a variant listed above:

Beckly Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Will Beckly, who landed in Maryland in 1677 5

Beckly Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henrick Beckly, aged 12, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732 5

Beckly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Catharine Label Beckly, who landed in Ohio in 1828 5
Daniel Beckly, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1841 5

Beckly migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Beckly Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Beckly, (Giddings), English convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 2nd February 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 28th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza