# Presley

Presley is a surname and given name.

## Etymology

The name Presley is derived from the Old English preost, meaning "priest", and leah meaning "forest clearing".

## History

Most instances of the surname Presley and variants Pressley and Pressly are thought to be of English origin. Later, if not found in some form originating also in Scotland, the name made its way across the border to that country, then on to Ireland and to the United States. However, some of the instances of the name in America may derive from the German surname Preslar (ultimately from Bressler, meaning 'from Breslau' (formerly in Germany, now in Poland)), as individuals in some post-colonial American records are recorded under both names.
The surname came to prominence in the person of Elvis Presley (known simply as Elvis), the American music icon, whose family, according to genealogists, has come from the German town of Neuhochstadt in Palatinate, via a certain Johannes Valentin Preslar that emigrated with his sons to North Carolina in the early 1700s.
In the United States and Australia, however, Presley is often an Anglicized form of German surnames such as Preslar and Presler. This is thought to be a habitational name from Breslau, Poland. Former President Jimmy Carter, through his mother, is thought to descend from Johann Valentin Preslar/Presler, who along with his family reached America and later the then frontier area of the central Carolinas sometime during the mid-18th century. Elvis Presley may have had the same ancestor.
Today, Presley ranks as the 1,825 most common surname in the United States.

## People with the surname

* Aeman Presley, American serial killer
* Alex Presley, American baseball player
* Annette Presley, New Zealand businesswoman
* Brandon Presley (born 1977), American politician
* Brian Presley, American actor
* Charlotte Presley, American polymath
* Elvis Presley (1935–1977), American singer
* Gerald Presley, Canadian bobsledder
* Gladys Presley (1912–1958), Elvis Presley's mother
* Harold Ray Presley, American law enforcement officer
* Harriette Estelle Harris Presley (1862–1885), American missionary in Liberia
* Hovis Presley, English comedian
* Jenna Presley, American porn star
* Jim Presley, American baseball player
* Leo Presley, American footballer
* Lisa Marie Presley (1968–2023), American singer-songwriter, Elvis Presley's daughter
* Luther G. Presley, American songwriter and musician
* Priscilla Presley (born 1945), Elvis Presley's ex-wife
* Reg Presley, English singer/songwriter
* Sam Davis Presley, American sailor
* Sharon Presley, American activist
* Vernon Presley (1916–1979), Elvis Presley's father
* Wayne Presley, American ice hockey player

## Variants of the surname

* Anne Pressly, murdered KATV anchorwoman
* Ayanna Pressley, American politician
* Ebenezer Erskine Pressly
* Eleanor C. Pressly, aeronautical engineer
* Jaime Pressly, American actress
* Jhurell Pressley, American football player
* Chris Pressley, American professional football player
* Harold Pressley, American basketball player
* Henry Roosevelt Pressley, blues and soul instrumentalist
* Janet Pressley, American singer/songwriter
* Robert Pressley, NASCAR driver
* Ryan Pressly, American professional baseball player
* Steven Pressley, Scottish footballer

## People with the given name

* Presley Askew (1909–1994), American basketball and baseball coach
* Presley Carson (1968–2024), retired Honduran football player
* Presley Cash (born 1997), American musician and actress
* Presley Chweneyagae (born 1984), South African actor
* Presley Ewing (1822–1854), American politician
* Presley T. Glass (1824–1902), American politician
* Presley Neville (1755–1818), American military officer
* Presley O'Bannon (1776–1850), American soldier
* Presley Marion Rixey (1852–1928), American physician
* Presley Sorah (born 2003), American professional stock car racing driver
* Presley Spruance (1785–1863), American merchant
* Presley Tanita Tucker (born 1989), daughter of Tanya Tucker and Ben Reed
* Presley Thornton (1721–1769), American planter and politician
* Presley Merritt Wagoner, American clubwoman who served as the President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution from 2005 to 2007
* Presley Norton Yoder (1932–1993), Ecuadorian archaeologist and entrepreneur

## Variants of the given name

* Pressley Blake (born 1936), Canadian football player
* Priestley Farquharson (born 1997), English professional footballer
* Pressley Harvin III (born 1998), American professional football player
* Pressly Matthews (1903–1967), New Zealand politician
* Priestly H. McBride (1796–1869), American justice
* Priestley Swain (1881–1949), English bishop