Loosley

The Buckinghamshire village now known as Loosely Row, two miles from Princes Risborough is the probable place of origin of this English surname. There is however a place in Surrey called Losely Park near Guildford, and it is just possible that some name holders may derive from here or from now lost site. Curiously the surname is first recorded in London, but we feel that this is because of missing Buckinghamshire registers. Normally locational surnames developed when people left their place of origin and went elsewhere, taking or being given as their surname, the name of their former home. This maybe the case here, but interestingly as early as January 19th 1611 Jane Looselie is recorded as marrying Thomas Wade at Princes Risborough, literally down the road. This suggests that the village of Loosely may have been owned by a family of the same name, but this we have not been able to ascertain.The name is Olde English, deriving from Hlose Leah, and translating as 'The boars enclosure'. Examples of the recording include Richardus Looseley who married Anna Morgan, on April 19th 1623, at St Martins in the Field, Westminster, and George Loosely, a witness at St Sepulchres Church, London, on April 14th 1753. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Lowseley, which was dated April 14th 1598, a witness at St Andrews by the Wardrobe, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as 'Good Queen Bess' 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.