Browse Surnames

This is a list of surnames in which the meaning contains the keyword clearing.
usage
meaning
Blakeley English
From name of various English places, derived from Old English blæc "black" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Brinley English
Possibly from English places named Brindley, derived from Old English berned "burned" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Everly English
From place names meaning derived from Old English eofor "boar" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Hanley English
From various English place names meaning "high meadow" in Old English.
Hartley English
Habitational name for someone originally from any of the various locations in England named Hartley, from Old English heorot "hart, male deer" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Headley English
From place names meaning "heather clearing" in Old English.
Lee 1 English
Originally given to a person who lived on or near a leah, Old English meaning "woodland, clearing".
Lehr German
From Old High German loh meaning "meadow, clearing".
Leigh English
Variant of Lee 1.
Oakley English
From a place name meaning "oak clearing" in Old English. It was borne by American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1860-1926).
Ripley English
From the name of various English towns, from Old English rippel "grove, thicket" and leah "woodland, clearing". A notable fictional bearer is the character Ellen Ripley from the movie Alien (1979) and its sequels.
Stanley English
From various place names meaning "stone clearing" in Old English. A notable bearer was the British-American explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904).
Tenley English
Possibly from the name of an English town derived from Old English tind "point" and leah "woodland, clearing".
Thwaite English
Indicated a dweller in a forest clearing or pasture, from Old Norse þveit "clearing, pasture".
Tveit Norwegian
Habitational name derived from Old Norse þveit meaning "clearing".
Weasley Literature
Used by J. K. Rowling for the character of Ron Weasley (and other members of his family) in her Harry Potter series of books, first released in 1997. Rowling presumably derived it from the English word weasel, perhaps in combination with the common place name/surname suffix -ley, which is derived from Old English leah meaning "woodland, clearing".
Wheatley English
From any of the various places in England with this name, meaning "wheat clearing" in Old English.