The first record I found of the Whitley family name was around 1066 when they came across in support of the Norman Invasion and settled in a village called Whitleigh just north of Plymouth which is now a suburb of Plymouth.Some of the Family moved up to Shropshire and by the early 1300s to the Whitley Villages in Cheshire. Until this point the family had, in the main, remained farmers, but one member of the family moved to Aston Flintshire to marry into a family without a son & heir, this side of the family became very military minded. I have proof that the two families are linked, but, take care if you use a company to produce shields etc, these are unlikely to relate to your family.
The surname WHITLEY, I believe, comes from the Viking "White Meadow or Lay" which seems appropriate given that my family we farmers/Land Owners/Yeoman for many centuries.
Graham