Henley Family History

English: habitational name from any of several places called Henley, for example in Surrey, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Shropshire, and Suffolk. Most of the placenames derive from Old English hēan, the weak dative form of hēah ‘high’ (originally used after a preposition and an article) + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. However, some, including the one in Shropshire, come from Old English henn ‘hen, wild bird’ + lēah.

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hIonnghaile, from a variant (without initial F-) of the personal name Fionnghal, which gave rise to Ó Fionnghaile (see Fennell).

Possibly an Americanized form of German Henle.