Manley Family History
Manley Name Meaning
English: habitational name from any of the places in Devon and Cheshire named in Old English as ‘common wood or clearing’ from (ge)mǣne ‘common shared’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. The surname is still chiefly found in the regions around these villages. English: nickname from Middle English mannly ‘manly virile brave’ (Old English mannlīc originally ‘man-like’). Irish (County Cork): Anglicized form of Ó Máinle (and often pronounced Mauly) of unexplained etymology. Compare Malley . Irish (Connacht and Donegal): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maonghaile ‘descendant of Maonghal’ a personal name derived from words meaning ‘wealth’ and ‘valor’.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022