Meanings
alternative Hurley
- A village and civil parish (served by Cressage, Harley and Sheinton Parish Council) in Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SJ5901).
- A settlement in Wentworth parish, Rotherham borough, South Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SK3698).
- A habitational surname from Old English from the place names.
- A unisex given name transferred from the surname.
plural Harleys · alternative Hurley
- A Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
I was blown away by how much the 800 looks like a Harley. My Harley riding friends always do a double take when they see a picture of it. I personally like the Harleyesque looks and have owned a Vulcan 1500.
1995 April 6, Peter Harper, “Honda shadow vt1100 Ace”, in rec.motorcycles (Usenet)1 more example
Some dealers also took advantage of heightened demand for Harleys to charge more, a move that may have done long-lasting harm. “Dealers were charging more than the suggested manufacturer price and it made Harley look greedy and jeopardized our brand that we spent a long time building,” Mr. Ziemer said.
2009 March 22, Susanna Hamner, “Harley, You’re Not Getting Any Younger”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 09 Nov 2020
Origin
- Old Englishhær“rock”
- EnglishHarley
From Old English hær (“rock”) or hara (“hare”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to hare + -ley (“lea”).
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Harley
All rhymes →Cite this entry
Harley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Harley
“Harley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Harley. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Harley,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Harley.
Source: Harley on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.