English (Warwickshire): apparently a variant of Gourley
or Gorley.
Possibly an
Americanized spelling of French Gourlé, from Old French
gourle ‘money belt’. Its application as a surname is not clear;
it may have been a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such
receptacles, or perhaps a nickname for someone who was tight with his
money.
Alternatively, it may be an Americanized form of German
Gerling or Gerlich.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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