Smiley is one of the main names of my wifes lineage and she is very fortunate that family stories and memories take her back to the early 19th century, therefore the collection of facts on these pages is by no means comprehensive or complete.
The name is of Scottish origin and arrived in Northern Ireland in the early part of the seventeenth century during the Plantation of Ulster. Letterkenny, Co. Tyrone, Co. Down and the Larne areas all saw settlements of the Smiley name. Other variations of spelling include Smylie, Smilie and Smyley. On the Scottish side the name was native to Lanarkshire and probably a variant of the name Smellie. Like most names, Smiley may have refered to the place a man came from and been changed through the years to it’s present form. This could have pointed to Smalley in Derbyshire, Smeley in Essex or even the French place name of Semilly. The earliest occurance of the name I know of is in Glascow in 1283 when Oliver and Richard Smally were landowners in the town.
I look forward to corresponding with anyone regarding the Smiley families of Ireland in an effort to learn more a build a better picture of how the various families were connected so if you have any information of any type, please do get in touch