Bartley is an unusual given name that was passed down through several generations of my family. It's unusual enough that I've often wondered about its origins - but had never seen the name anywhere else. It turns out that in the mid-1800s the name was specific to an area of Ireland that includes Counties Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, and Leitrim. It occurred virtually no where else - and therefore provides a bit of genealogical information about Irish origins.

The map below shows the distribution of the given name Bartley in the Griffith Valuation. Clearly, the name Bartley is centered in the area where the Counties Sligo, Roscommon, and Leitrim meet. A quarter of all 112 Bartleys in Ireland were in that one place. Was Bartley a historical local hero in that area? Local saint?

I'd love to know the story behind that name!

Bartley is said to be a nickname for Bartholemew. However a comparison with the map of the distribution of the given name Bartholemew shows that if Bartley was a nickname, it was used only in the small region shown here.