459 Global Pilley Family Members

Pilley Family History

This is a locational name 'of Pilley' a manor, south of Barnsley in the South Riding of Yorkshire - recorded as Pillei in the Domesday Book (1066 - 1086) and as Pillay in the latter part of the 12th century. The name derives from the Olde English elements 'pil' a post and 'leah' a wood or clearing i.e. a wood where trees for piles were cut down. The form Pilley is first recorded in 1780 when one John Pilley married a Mary Crush in St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Johannes de Pillay (of Tankersley).