Meaning & Origin
A place name, including: A number of places in England: A town in Oxfordshire; see Henley-on-Thames. A town in Warwickshire; see Henley-in-Arden. A hamlet in Buckland Newton parish, Dorset . An outer eastern suburb of Gloucester, Gloucestershire . A hamlet in Acton Scott parish, Shropshire . A hamlet in Bitterley parish, south Shropshire . A hamlet in High Ham parish, Somerset A hamlet in West Crewkerne parish, Somerset . A village and civil parish in Mid Suffolk district, Suffolk . A small settlement in Easebourne parish, Chichester district, West Sussex . A hamlet in Box parish, Wiltshire A hamlet mostly in Buttermere parish, Wiltshire. . A place in the United States: An unincorporated community in Cole County, Missouri, derived from the surname. An unincorporated community in Scioto County, Ohio, derived from the surname. An unincorporated community in Klamath County, Oregon, also from the surname. A suburb of Sydney in the Municipality of Hunter's Hill, New South Wales, Australia. A settlement in Otago, New Zealand, on the Taieri River.
Henley is a girl's and boy's baby name of Old English origin, from the English place name meaning "high meadow" or "high clearing," from the Old English hean (high) and leah (clearing, meadow). Henley-on-Thames, the home of the Royal Regatta, is its most famous bearer.
Henley has been growing in the United States as a polished, feminine surname name with the same -ley ending that has made Hailey, Ashley, and Hadley so popular. Its riverbank, regatta associations give it a preppy, aspirational quality that resonates with many parents.