Stalley

This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval origin and is a good example of the many modern surnames that have their origins in nicknames. In this instance, the nickname was for a valiant, resolute, "Stalwart" person, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "Staelwierthe", composed of the elements "Stael", place and "Wierthe", worthy. In Middle English the word was "Stalward", and "Stalworth". The name development has included Sybyll Stalward or Stallard (1572, Hereford) and Thomas Stollard (1645, London). The modern forms range from Stallard and Stollard to Stallwood, Stallworthy and Stal(l)ey. One Edmund Stallard married Catherine Cox at St. Dionis Backchurch, London in 1740. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Reiner Stalewurd, which was dated 1227, in the Norfolk Patent Rolls, during the reign of King Henry 111, known as the Frenchman, 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.