Jack Mattingly's Web Site
History of Mattingly Family
Name
The English surname Mattingly is toponymic in origin, belonging to that group of surnames derived from the place where the original bearer once lived or where he once held land. In this case the surname comes from the village of Mattingley in Heckfield, Hampshire (WSW of London, just NW of Farnborough and S of Reading), and the bearer would therefore have been one who dwelt "at Mattingley". The village takes its name from the Old English "Matting's leah", meaning "Matting's (or Matthew's) field", and would would have grown up around a field owned by one Matting. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 amongst the lands of the new king, William the Conquerer. The village was held by one Alfsi, son of Brictsi, who took over the lands from Alric who had held them under the previous king, Edward the Confessor. The village had some eleven inhabitants including three smallholders, and there was a mill valued at five shillings and a meadow of four acres. The value of the village was some thirty shillings. The village is recorded under the name Matingelege which accounts for the early spelling of this surname as Matingel. These early records of the surname date back to the thirteenth century when one Stephen de Madingel or de Matingel is noted in the Curia Regis Rolls of Hampshire and of Surrey in 1206. In 1249, in the "Calendar of Inquisition Post Mortem", in the volume for Hampshire we note the name of one Peter de Mattingley. The prefix "de" comes from the Latin meaning "of" and confirms the toponymic nature of the surname. (Source: The Historical Research Center, Inc.)
Most of those who came over to Maryland during the 17th century changed the spelling of their surname to Mattingly and those who remain in England retained the original spelling. However search of the US Census records shows that the Mattingley spelling shows up about 10% of the time.
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