Downley

English

Etymology

From Old English dūn (“hill, mountain”) + lēah (“woodland clearing, glade”). Equivalent to dune or down +‎ -ley (“lea”).

Proper noun

Downley (countable and uncountable, plural Downleys)

1. A village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, formerly in Wycombe district (OS grid ref SU8595).
2. A habitational surname from Old English.

Statistics

• According to data collected by Forebears in 2014, Downley is the 1028827^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 6 individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Downley”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 485.