Brearley

English

Etymology

From Old English brēr (“briar”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to briar +‎ -ley (“lea”).

Proper noun

Brearley (countable and uncountable, plural Brearleys)

1. A hamlet in Hebden Royd parish, Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE0225).
2. A habitational surname from Old English.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Brearley is the 40313^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 543 individuals. Brearley is most common among White (94.29%) individuals.

References

• Survey of English Place-Names

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Brearley”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 220.