This is a locational name of Olde English pre 7th Century origins which derives from residence at a farm or enclosure (heah) of Cattle (Styre) or from the village of Stirchley in Shropshire. The village name first appears in the Anglo Saxon Will Rolls as early as the year 1002 in the reign of King Aethelred, The Unready, (978 - 1016) although the surname recordings are much later. The name development includes Ann Sturlye (1638, London) whilst in 1820 Ann Sturley married Joshua Brook at Newington, St. Mary in Surrey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elen Sturley, which was dated 1539, christened at St. Leonards, Eastcheap, London, during the reign of King Henry VIII, Good King Hal, 1510 - 1548. 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.

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