The Turley surname is common in the West Midlands of England where Theodore was born and appears in England itself back to the time of the crusades.

Y Chromosome Testing

At least four male descendants of Isaac Turley, son of Theodore Turley and Frances Kimberley, have taken Y chromosome tests and participate in the Turley surname project at FamilyTreeDNA. Comparison with other testers with the Turley surname suggest Theodore’s paternal line is likely not connected to Irish Turley lines.

Turley surname

According to the Dictionary of American Family Names, the Turley surname has independent origins in the countries of Ireland, Germany, and England.1

  • “Irish (Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Toirdealbhaigh, a patronymic from the personal name Toirdhealbhach, a personal name based on an Irish form of the Old Norse name Thórr ‘Thunder’ + the Gaelic word dealbhach ‘like in the shape of’. Compare McCurley from the lenited form of the same name.”
  • “Altered form of German Thurley from a personal name formed with Old High German tiuri ‘dear valuable’ + līh (?) related to Gothic leiks ‘body shape’.”
  • “English (Staffordshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire): variant of Thurlow or Trillo.”

Origins of Thurlow surname
“English (mainly Suffolk and Norfolk): habitational name from Thurlow in Suffolk named from an uncertain first element (perhaps Old English thride ‘deliberation’ possibly used to name an assembly site or thrȳth ‘troop host of warriors’) + Old English hlāw ‘mound hill’.”2

Origins of Trillo surname (English version)
“English: habitational name from Tirley Gloucestershire. The placename derives from Old English trind ‘circular’ + lēah ‘wood woodland clearing’.”3

Important: There is no current link among Y chromosome testers descended from Theodore Turley with anyone carrying Thurlow or Trillo surnames. In fact, many Y chromosome testers with the Turley surname do not appear to have genetic relationships to each other anytime in the last several thousand years. These Turley lines are located in the United States, Ireland, and England.

Further plans for this page:

  • What we know and don’t know about Theodore Turley’s maternal and paternal lines. For example, we do NOT know the name of Theodore Turley’s paternal grandmother (no, it’s not Margaret Ford).
  • Investigation and discussion of the Turley tie to Scandinavian royalty.
  • Anything else? Contact us if you have contributions or requests for this page.
Related Links

  1. Descriptions of the origin of the Turley surname are taken from Ancestry.com, citing the Dictionary of American Family Names. “Turley Family History,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/last-name-meaning/turley : accessed 7 May 2025): citing Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, 2022.
  2. “Thurlow Family History,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/last-name-meaning/thurlow : accessed 7 May 2025): citing Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, 2022.
  3. “Trillo Family History,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/last-name-meaning/trillo : accessed 7 May 2025): citing Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, 2022.