Henley Family History

English: habitational name from any of the various places so called. Most, for example those in Oxfordshire, Suffolk, and Warwickshire, are named with Old English héan (the weak dative case of heah ‘high’, originally used after a preposition and article) + Old English leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’. Others, for example one near Ludlow in Shropshire, have as their first element Old English henn ‘hen’, ‘wild bird’. Others still, for example those in Somerset and Surrey, are ambiguous between the two possibilities. In Ireland, Henley is used for Hennelly, and sometimes for Hanley. Possibly an Americanized spelling of German Henle.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press