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The first attestation Eckersley/Eccersley is de Ecclesleye in 1301, and there are many placenames that begin in Eccles- as you can see at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_locations:_Eat-Ee#Ec. Eccles apparently has more tha one origin but in most cases it seems to mean 'church' (< Latin ecclesia, < Greek ekklesia 'assembly')