170 WELLESLEY members around the world

WELLESLEY Family History

Recorded as Wesley, Westley, Westly and Wellesley, the family name of the dukes of Wellington, this is a locational surname. For ever associated with the non conformist preacher John Wesley (1703 - 1791), it originates from any or even all of the various places in England called Westley or Westleigh, from the Olde English pre 7th century word "west", usually meaning to the west of a main settlement, and "leah, a parcel of land in a forest cleared for agriculture, essentially a farm, although it may also mean a water or low-lying meadow.