Presley

Presley is a surname and given name.

Etymology

The name ''Presley'' is derived from the Old English ''preost'', meaning "priest", and ''leah'' meaning "forest clearing".

History

Most instances of the surname ''Presley'' and variants ''Pressley'' and ''Pressly'' are thought to be ultimately of English origin. Later, if not found in some form originating also in Scotland, the name made its way across the border to that country, then on to Ireland and to the United States. However, some of the instances of the name in America may derive from a German surname Preslar (ultimately from Bressler, meaning 'from Breslau, Poland'), as individuals in some post-colonial American records are recorded under both names.

The surname came to prominence in the person of Elvis Presley, the American music icon, whose family may have originally come from Scotland and whose earliest documented ancestors were an Andrew Presley and an Elspeth Leg, who were based in the Aberdeenshire village of Lonmay. Their son, also called Andrew, who emigrated to the United States in 1745, was the first recorded Presley on American soil and the musician's direct ancestor of 7 generations.
It is possible that in Scotland, the surname originates with the Aberdeenshire hamlet of Persley, now encompassed by the City of Aberdeen. This location's name is probably derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''phreaslach'', meaning "wooded place", or a Brittonic Pictish equivalent of the same word (c.f. Welsh ''phrysgwydden'' 'shrub'). The names Presley and Pressly to this day remain fairly common in Aberdeenshire but are sparse in the rest of Scotland.

In the United States and Australia, however, Presley is often an Anglicized form of German surnames such as Preslar and Presler. This is thought to be a habitational name from Breslau, Poland. Former President Jimmy Carter, through his mother, is thought to descend from Johann Valentin Preslar/Presler, who along with his family reached America and later the then frontier area of the central Carolinas sometime during the mid-18th century. Elvis Presley may have had the same ancestor.

Today, Presley ranks as the 1,825 most common surname in the United States.

People with the surname

* Aeman Presley, American serial killer
* Alex Presley, American baseball player
* Annette Presley, New Zealand businesswoman
* Brian Presley, American actor
* Elvis Presley, American singer
* Gerald Presley, Canadian bobsledder
* Gladys Presley, Elvis Presley's mother
* Harold Ray Presley, American law enforcement officer
* Hovis Presley, English comedian
* Jenna Presley, American porn star
* Jim Presley, American baseball player
* Leo Presley, American footballer
* Lisa Marie Presley (1968–2023), American singer-songwriter, Elvis Presley's daughter
* Luther G. Presley, American songwriter and musician
* Priscilla Presley, Elvis Presley's ex-wife
* Reg Presley, English singer/songwriter
* Sam Davis Presley, American sailor
* Sharon Presley, American activist
* Vernon Presley, Elvis Presley's father
* Wayne Presley, American ice hockey player

Variants of the surname

* Anne Pressly, murdered KATV anchorwoman
* Ayanna Pressley, American politician
* Ebenezer Erskine Pressly
* Eleanor C. Pressly, aeronautical engineer
* Jaime Pressly, American actress
* Jhurell Pressley, American football player
* Chris Pressley, American professional football player
* Harold Pressley, former American basketball player
* Henry Roosevelt Pressley, blues and soul instrumentalist
* Janet Pressley, American singer/songwriter
* Robert Pressley, former NASCAR driver
* Ryan Pressly, American professional baseball player
* Steven Pressley, Scottish footballer

People with the given name

* Presley Askew (1909–1994), American basketball and baseball coach
* Presley Carson (born 1968), retired Honduran football player
* Presley Chweneyagae, South African actor
* Presley Underwood Ewing, American politician
* Presley T. Glass, American politician
* Presley Hart, female model who was ''Penthouse'' magazine's Pet of the Month for March 2013
* Presley Neville O’Bannon, American soldier
* Presley Marion Rixey, American physician
* Presley Spruance, American merchant
* Presley Norton Yoder (1932–1993), Ecuadorian archaeologist and entrepreneur
* Presley Neville (1755–1818), American military officer

References

{{given name, type=both

Surnames of English origin
English unisex given names