Checkly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins and Etymology of Checkly

The surname Checkly was first found in Staffordshire at Checkley, a village and civil parish in the district of Staffordshire Moorlands. There are actually two other Checkley villages: one in Cheshire and another in Herefordshire. Both of the latter are dated after the Domesday Book while the former was originally listed there as Cedla and later in 1196 as Chekeleg. All of the place names literally meant "wood or clearing of a man called Ceaddica or Ceacca." 1 Conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Checkley, held by Otto from the King, a Norman noble who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086.

Checkley Hall is a small country house in the parish of Checkley cum Wrinehill, Cheshire. It was built in 1694 by the Delves family of Doddington.

Early History of the Checkly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Checkly research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1190, 1281 and 1447 are included under the topic Early Checkly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Checkly Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Checkly are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Checkly include Checkley, Checkleigh, Checklee, Checkly, Chackley, Chackly and many more.

Early Notables of the Checkly family

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

Checkly migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet

Mr. William Checkly, British settler convicted in London, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Active" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 2

Sources +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships