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The Hensley family surname is usually pronounced Henz-lee (think "Hen" like female chicken). Some Hensleys pronounce it only slightly different with an "ss" sound in the middle instead of a "zz" sound (sounding like Hence-Lee). Though it is generally pronounced the same, it can be spelled several different ways, and yet in spite of these many alternate spellings, it is clear that they are all the same general family. Here are the most common spellings of this surname:
The first four of the above are still among us today, while the rest are generally just misspelling of the name. Sometimes you will find a "d" in the name, such as "Hendsley", but that is generally the same as "Hensley", just spelled wrong. I think the most unusual misspelling I have seen for the name is "Hainesley" (1850 Carroll Co, GA Census).
There are also other names that are very similar to Hensley, yet are not pronounced the same, yet sometimes even these can be actual Hensleys, just misspelled by whomever wrote it down, but generally these are not the same family:
These three above are found in various places, and generally are not considered to be related to the Hensley family, but since the surnames are so similar, I take note of them in case there is some sort of common ancestry.
While "Hansley" and "Hinesley" may be related names to "Hensley", here are some similar names that are not connected to the Hensley family as far as I can tell, even though many assume they might be:
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