Oxley

English

Etymology

From Old English oxa (“ox”) + lēah (“woodland clearing”). Equivalent to ox +‎ -ley (“lea”).

Proper noun

Oxley (countable and uncountable, plural Oxleys)

1. A suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England (OS grid ref SJ9101).
2. A community of the town of Essex, Essex County, Ontario, Canada.
3. A number of places in Australia, most of which are named after John Oxley:
   1. A suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.
   2. A community of Balranald Shire, Riverina district, New South Wales.
   3. A river in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, a tributary of the Tweed.
   4. A suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, south-west of the city centre.
   5. A town in the Rural City of Wangaratta, Victoria.
4. A habitational surname from Old English.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Oxley is the 7694^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 4315 individuals. Oxley is most common among White (87.25%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Oxley”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.