Show ContentsStodleigh History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The surname Stodleigh literally means "woodland clearing or pasture where a herd of horses is kept," from the Old English "stod" + "leah." [1] [2]

Another source notes the name denotes "belonging to Studleigh, Studley, the Middle English Stodley, Stodlegh, Anglo-Saxon Stódleáh (' tó stódleáge'- dat.: 'C.S.' no. 620) = the Stud-Lea. Studley was Stodlei in Domesday Book." [3]

Parishes and places with the name are found in Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, and West Riding of Yorkshire. "Stoodleigh is a parish in Devon, five miles from Hampton. There can be no doubt that the Dorset and Devon Studleys in general represent the last-named place." [4]

Early Origins of the Stodleigh family

The surname Stodleigh was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 where William de Stodley, Leicestershire was recorded at that time. [4] A few years later, William de Stoddleye was recorded in Wiltshire in 1282 and later again, Henry Studley was found in Gloucestershire in 1373. [5]

In Devon, Robert held Stoodleigh near Oakford from Ralph de Pomeroy, and Arnold held Stoodleigh from Walter de Douai in West Buckland, also in Devon. "On Warbrightsleigh Hill, in the parish, are the remains of a beacon said to have been erected by Edward II." [6] This parish was recorded as Stodlei in the Domesday Book of 1086. [7]

The Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III. included an entry for Thomas de Studle, Bedfordshire, 20 Edward I (during the twentieth year of King Edward I's reign.) In Walter de Stodleghe was listed there 1 Edward III. [8]

Early History of the Stodleigh family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Stodleigh research. Another 162 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1545, 1561, 1566, 1570, 1572, 1573, 1584, 1586, 1588, 1590, 1610, 1644, 1662 and 1664 are included under the topic Early Stodleigh History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Stodleigh Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Stodleigh were recorded, including Stoodley, Studley, Stoodly, Studly, Stodlege, Stoodlege and many more.

Early Notables of the Stodleigh family

Distinguished members of the family include John Studley (c.1545-1590), an English academic, best known as a translator of Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman and dramatist. "He matriculated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1561; he graduated B. A. in 1566 and M.A. in 1570, being elected a fellow of the college in the interval. He was a good classical scholar, and at a very early age prepared, in continuation of the labours of Jasper Heywood, translations of four of Seneca's tragedies 'Agamemnon,' 'Medea,' 'Hippolytus,' and 'Hercules Oeteus.' He employed the common ballad metre for the dialogue, and rhyming decasyllabics for the...
Another 102 words (7 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Stodleigh Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Stodleigh family

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Stodleigh family emigrate to North America: Thomas Studley who settled in Virginia in 1606; fourteen years before the "Mayflower"; John Stoodley settled in Barbados in 1685. In Newfoundland, Jonathon Stoodley settled in Fogo in 1792.



  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  7. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  8. 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.


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