New Post
Search
Help
ArchivesWaverly
Hello. Ever since I heard Waverly used as a first name in the Joy Luck Club, I've been endeared by it. I know it comes from a last name, probably of Anglo-Saxon descent, but I could be wrong about that. Does anyone know what the origins of the name are and what it means?
1
Replies
I've never heard of anything about aspen trees over here. There's a river in Cumbria called the Waver from OE/AS waefre meaning 'winding'. The -ly ending means 'meadow' or more precisely 'clearing'. There's a town called Waverton in Cumbria ('farmstead by the river Waver') and another in Cheshire ('farmstead by the swaying tree')...see how the root of 'winding' is manifesting here?
It seems as if someone has decided that 'winding' leading to a 'swaying' tree has given license to assume the swaying tree was a Quaking Aspen. Involves a certain leap of logic and without more proof I wouldn't go there.
Waverly would most likely mean 'meadow by the river Waver' or if you like 'meadow by the winding river'. If one could link it to regions out of Cumbria then the 'meadow by the swaying tree' would be an alternative meaning. As a placename, it's been folded in and as a surname it's rare.
Devon
It seems as if someone has decided that 'winding' leading to a 'swaying' tree has given license to assume the swaying tree was a Quaking Aspen. Involves a certain leap of logic and without more proof I wouldn't go there.
Waverly would most likely mean 'meadow by the river Waver' or if you like 'meadow by the winding river'. If one could link it to regions out of Cumbria then the 'meadow by the swaying tree' would be an alternative meaning. As a placename, it's been folded in and as a surname it's rare.
Devon
1
Hi,
Waverley is of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) origin, as you said, and it is a place-name that became a surname before becoming a first name.
There's a few different versions of the meaning about: 'ley' definitely means 'field' or 'meadow', and most sources suggest that 'waver' has something to do with aspen trees. So, "from the aspen-tree meadow" is probably fairly close.
Hope that helps :-)
Waverley is of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) origin, as you said, and it is a place-name that became a surname before becoming a first name.
There's a few different versions of the meaning about: 'ley' definitely means 'field' or 'meadow', and most sources suggest that 'waver' has something to do with aspen trees. So, "from the aspen-tree meadow" is probably fairly close.
Hope that helps :-)
1