Richley Family History

English (Northumberland and Durham): probably a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place possibly in the Newcastle area of northeastern England where the surname is now most concentrated. The name was later influenced by the French name Richelieu in the 18th century.

Perhaps also an altered form of Swiss German Richle and Richli from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name based on rīc rīh ‘power(ful)’ (see Reich).