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Lindley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Lindley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Lindley is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in either of the settlements called Linley in Shropshire or Wiltshire, or in one of the places called Lindley in Leicestershire or the West Riding of Yorkshire. The surname Lindley is occasionally derived from residence near a limewood or in a clearing where flax was grown. The surname Lindley belongs to both the large category of Anglo-Saxon habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads, and to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees.

Early Origins of the Lindley family

The surname Lindley was first found in Yorkshire at Lindley cum Quarmby, a chapelry, in the parish and union of Huddersfield, Upper division of the wapentake of Agbrigg. 1

"The name is derived from Lindley, Yorkshire, which was held (13th cent.) from Roger de Mowbray by knight service, by William de Rodeville or Rudeville, of Normandy. 2 3

The first record of the family found early rolls was Robert de Linleye who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 in Bedfordshire. 4 In Somerset, Augustin Lynleye, was listed there 1 Edward III (during the first years of King Edward III's reign.) 5

Early History of the Lindley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lindley research. Another 114 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1570, 1599, 1609, 1732, 1758, 1771, 1795, 1799, 1835 and 1865 are included under the topic Early Lindley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lindley 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 Lindley family name include Lindlie, Lindly, Lindley, Lindleigh, Lindlee, Lyndley, Lyndly, Lyndlee and many more.

Early Notables of the Lindley family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir Henry Lindley (d. 1609), of Leatherly, Yorkshire, knighted at Offaley on 30 July 1599. He was the third son of Laurence Lindley of Leathley by Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Redman of Harewood Cas...
John Lindley (1799-1865), was a "botanist and horticulturist, born at Catton, near Norwich, 5 Feb. 1799. His father, George Lindley, an able but unsuccessful nurseryman, was the descendant of a good Y...

Lindley Ranking

In the United States, the name Lindley is the 3,005^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 6

Migration of the Lindley family to Ireland

Some of the Lindley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lindley migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, the Canadas, 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 Lindley surname or a spelling variation of the name include :

Lindley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Lindley, who landed in America in 1760-1763 7
Elizabeth Lindley, who settled in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1767
John Lindley, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1772

Lindley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Lindley, who settled in Baltimore Maryland in 1804
Caleb Lindley, who landed in Washington County, Pennsylvania in 1836 7
Thomas Lindley, who landed in New York, NY in 1846 7
George Lindley, who arrived in New York in 1847 7

Lindley migration to Australia +

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

Lindley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Lindley, (Horn), English convict who was convicted in West Riding, Yorkshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Elphinstone" on 27th May 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Lindley (post 1700) +

Ernest K. Lindley (1899-1979), American actor, known for Yankee Go Home-Communist Propaganda (1950), F.D.R. (1965) and Portraits of Power (1957)
Ashley Lindley (b. 1987), American actress and producer, known for Kafka's Karaoke (2016), Birds of a Feather (2011) and Open (2014)
Shelby Lindley (b. 1986), American actress from Santa Monica, California, known for Mahô shôjo Madoka magika: Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011), Gekijou-ban Mahou Shoujo Madoka*Magica: [Zenpen] Hajimari no monogatari (2012)
David Perry Lindley (1944-2023), American musician, founder of the band El Rayo-X, known for his work with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, Warren Zevon, Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton
Earl Lindley (1933-2012), American CFL professional football player from Wellsville, Utah; he played for the Edmonton Eskimoes (1954-1957), inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1986
Butch Lindley (1948-1990), American NASCAR racer, Champion of the NASCAR National Sportsman series (1977-1978)
Audra Lindley (1918-1997), American actress, best known for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company
Alfred Lindley (1904-1951), American lawyer and gold medalist rower at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Louis Lindley (1919-1983), birth name of Slim Pickens, American film and television actor, best remembered for his comic role as Major King Kong, the pilot who rode a nucleur bomb to it's target in Dr. Strangelove
James Frederick "Jimmy" Lindley (1935-2022), English jockey who competed in flat racing; after retirement, he spent nearly 30 years as a horse racing commentator and broadcaster
... (Another 14 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Lindley family +

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Harry Lindley, English 3rd Class passenger residing in Toledo, Ohio, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 9

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Testa de Nevill or "Liber Feodorum" or "Book of Fees," thought to have been written by Ralph de Nevill, for King John (1199–1216)
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)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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 18th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elphinstone
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/