2000
#125,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 126
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Allely
A variant spelling of the English surname Alley or Alleyne, derived from a Norman French diminutive form of the name Alan.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Allely. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Allely surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Allely in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Allely, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Allely
The surname ALLELY is thought to have originated in England during the 12th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English words "ald" meaning old and "ley" meaning a clearing in a forest or woodland. This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near an ancient clearing or meadow.
One of the earliest recorded examples of this surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire from 1196, which mention a Robert de Aldeley. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also list a William de Aldelay in Oxfordshire. These early spellings provide insight into the name's evolution over time.
By the 14th century, the surname had begun appearing in various records across England. The Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire from 1327 include a Thomas de Aldeley, while the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire from 1379 list a Johannes Aldlay. These entries suggest the name was well-established by this time.
One notable bearer of the ALLELY surname was Sir William Alleley, a prominent English landowner and knight who lived during the 15th century. He served as a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire in 1449 and fought in the Wars of the Roses.
Another early bearer of this name was John Alleley, who was born in Leicestershire in 1520. He became a renowned academic and served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1589 to 1590.
In the 17th century, the ALLELY surname can be found in various parish records throughout England. For example, the baptismal records of St. Mary's Church in Nottinghamshire include an entry for a Thomas Allely in 1635.
During the 18th century, the name continued to appear across England, with bearers such as Richard Allely, a prominent merchant from Bristol who was born in 1702. He was involved in the lucrative transatlantic trade and amassed a considerable fortune.
One of the most notable figures with the ALLELY surname was Sir John Allely, a British naval officer who lived from 1785 to 1856. He served with distinction in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Allely
Among Census respondents with the surname Allely, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Allely bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Allely surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White98.3% · 119
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Allely
Allely appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#138,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-5 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,665 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,005 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #125,639 | 126 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #138,304 | 121 | 0.04 | -5 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 12,665 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Down 3,005 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Allely surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #138,304 | #141,309 | -2.2% |
| Count | 121 | 121 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Allely bearers went from 121 to 121 (+0.0% change). The surname moved down 3,005 positions in the national ranking, going from #138,304 to #141,309.
FAQ
Allely surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Allely?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Allely. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Allely?
Allely ranks #141,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 121 people with the surname Allely. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Allely.
Has Allely become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Allely went from 121 recorded bearers to 121. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #138,304 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Allely?
Among Census respondents with the surname Allely, the largest self-reported group is White at 98.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Allely in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.3% (119 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Allely appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (98.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Allely (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Allely mean?
A variant spelling of the English surname Alley or Alleyne, derived from a Norman French diminutive form of the name Alan. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Allely (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Allely?
If you just want to know how many people are called Allely, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.