Thornley

English

Alternative forms

• Thorneloe

Etymology

From Old English þorn (“thorn, thorny bush”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to thorn +‎ -ley (“lea”).

Proper noun

Thornley (plural Thornleys)

1. (uncountable) A placename:
   1. A village and civil parish in County Durham, England (OS grid ref NZ3639).
   2. A village in Wolsingham parish, County Durham, England (OS grid ref NZ1137).
2. (countable) A habitational surname from Old English.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Thornley is the 16624^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1725 individuals. Thornley is most common among White (94.14%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Thornley”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• threonyl