Hooley

English (northern England): habitational name from places called Hoole, in Cheshire and Lancashire. The former is so called from the Old English dative case hole of holh ‘hollow’, ‘depression’; the latter from Middle English hule ‘hut’, ‘shelter’ (Old English hulu ‘husk’, ‘covering’). In both cases the final -e is now silent in the place name, but has been retained in the surname, with consequent alteration in the spelling.