BENTLEY and RELATED FAMILIES

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

The Bentley name occurs throughout the United Kingdom. It is most prevalent in Yorkshire and Lancashire and down through the cities of the East Midlands as far as Birmingham. As a surname it was in use as early as 1176 by William de Benetlega in Derbyshire. The form of William’s name i.e. William ‘of Bentley’, confirms the origin of the name as a place name. As such several unrelated families in different parts of the country probably adopted it.

The place name Bentley is derived from the Old English ‘beonet’ and ‘leah’ and means woodland clearing where bent grasses (a particular type of grass) grow. As a place name it is recorded several times in the Domesday Book and as a manorial place name (preserved today as the name of a farm) as early as 775 in Worcestershire.