Show ContentsGrealy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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Grealy Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Early Origins of the Grealy family

The surname Grealy was first found in the Domesday Book of 1086 where Albert Greslet was listed as holding lands in Cheshire. 1

Robertus Greslatus was listed in Lancashire in 1127, Robert Greslet in the Pipe Rolls for Yorskhire in 1130, Robert Greilli in Bedfordshire from 1133-1160, and Alexander Grisle was listed in Winton, Hampshire in 1148. Albert

Gresley, Gresle was listed in Norfolk 1153-1168 and later in Lancashire in Pipe Rolls of 1182. Robert Gresle, de Gredlei was registered in the Pipe Rolls for Lincolnshire 1196-1197 and Gredlei was listed in the same county in 1200. Robert Gresle, Grelle, de Grellay, Gredlegh was found in the Feet of Fines for Lancashire, Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Oxfordshire in 1212. "Greasley and Gresley are also local in origin, from Greasley (Notts) and Gresley (Derby), pronounced Greasley." 2

There are two possible origins of the name. First, the name is derived from the Old French word "greslet" which roughly translates as "marked as by hail," or "pitted or pock-marked"; 2 and secondly it meant "dweller at the Grey Lea from the Old English grœg + leáh (Middle English ley.)" 3

Two other sources note that the name is a local name that "probably [originated] in co. Rutland, as De Greley and De Greyley are found there in H.R. [(Hundredorum Rolls)]temp. Edw. I." 4

And the second source provides more details about the Hundredorum Rolls entries, specifically entries for Thomas de Greyley, Rutland, and Albricus de Greyleye, Rutland. Robert de Greyle from Cambridgeshire was also listed there. 5

Robert Greyleg, was listed in Somerset, 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III. 6

Early History of the Grealy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Grealy research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1198, 1204, 1271, 1273, 1295, 1614, 1634, 1637, 1654 and 1674 are included under the topic Early Grealy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grealy Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Greely, Greeley, Grailly, de Grailly, Greyle, Greelie and many more.

Early Notables of the Grealy family

John Grayle or Graile (1614-1654), English Puritan minister, the son of John Grayle, priest, of Stone, Gloucestershire, where he was born. At the age of eighteen he...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Grealy Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Grealy migration to the United States +



Grealy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Ann Grealy, aged 26, who arrived in New York in 1854 7

Grealy migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Grealy Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary Ann Grealy, (b. 1843), aged 16, British settler travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Roman Emperor" arriving in Lyttlelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 26th January 1860 8
  • Patrick Grealy, aged 20, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dilharree" in 1875
  1. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  2. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  7. 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)
  8. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html

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