Explore the Family Name Sully

The meaning of Sully

1. English: of Norman origin, a habitational name from any of the three places called Sully in Calvados (Normandy), Aisne (Picardy), and Loiret (Centre); see 6 below. 2. English: of Norman origin, perhaps a habitational name from Sully (Glamorgan). However, the placename is manorial in origin, from the Norman surname in 1 above, which is recorded in Glamorgan in the 12th century. 3. English: habitational name from Old and New Sulehay in Nassington (Northamptonshire). The placename probably derives from an Old English personal name Seofa + Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’; however it is not clear whether this name has survived to modern times. 4. English: habitational name from the Isles of Scilly, recorded as Sully in the 12th century. The etymology of the name is uncertain and it is not clear whether this surname has survived to modern times. 5. English: habitational name from Sudeley (Gloucestershire), from Old English sūth ‘south, southern’ or scydd ‘hovel, shed’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. 6. French: habitational name from any of various places called Sully, for example in Calvados, Loiret, Saone-et-Loire, and Oise. The first of these is recorded in 1180 as Silleium, from the Gallo-Roman personal name Silius or Cilius + the Latin locative suffix -acum. The others are from the Gallo-Roman personal name Sol(l)ius + -acum. This surname is also found in Haiti. Some characteristic forenames: French Armelle, Christophe, Geralde, Luce, Pierre, Reynald.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.