REBECCA HADLEY

Biblical name, from the Latin form of the Hebrew name Rebekah, borne by the wife of Isaac, who was the mother of Esau and Jacob (Genesis 24–27). The Hebrew root occurs in the Bible only in the vocabulary word marbek ‘cattle stall’, and its connection with the name is doubtful. In any case, Rebecca was Aramean, and the name probably has a source in Aramaic. It has always been common as a Jewish name; in England and elsewhere it began to be used also by Christians from the 14th century onwards and especially at the time of the Reformation, when Old Testament names became popular. It was very common among the Puritans in the 17th century, and has enjoyed a tremendous vogue in England since the latter part of the 20th century, among people of many different creeds. In Scotland this is found as an Anglicized form of Beathag.

English (chiefly West Midlands): habitational name from either of two places named Hadley, in Worcestershire and Shropshire, or from either of two places named Hadleigh, in Essex and Suffolk. The first is named from the Old English personal name Hadda + lēah ‘wood’, ‘(woodland) clearing’; the other three are from Old English hǣð ‘heathland’, ‘heather’ + lēah.