2000
#14,821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,836
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.68
Rare Last name
Carnley
A locational surname derived from a place name in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,112 Americans carry the last name Carnley. That puts it at #15,343 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Carnley 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Carnley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 162,289
Census rank
#15,343
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,842 bearers of the surname Carnley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15343rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Carnley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Carnley
The surname Carnley has its origins in England, first appearing in records during the late medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from a place called Carnley or a similar spelling in one of the northern counties of England. The name may stem from the Old English words "carn" meaning a cairn or rocky hill, and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing, suggesting it referred to a meadow near a rocky hill.
One of the earliest known records of the Carnley name appears in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire from 1486, which mentions a John Carneley. The Feet of Fines were legal documents recording land transactions, indicating that members of the Carnley family were landowners in Yorkshire at that time.
In the 16th century, the Carnley surname can be found in various parish records across northern England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lancashire. One notable bearer of the name was William Carnley, born in 1563 in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, who was a respected clergyman and author of several religious texts.
The Carnley name also appeared in the Hearth Tax Rolls of the late 17th century, which recorded households and their taxable hearths. Entries for Carnley families can be found in counties like Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Westmorland, suggesting the name was well-established in this region.
In the 18th century, a prominent Carnley was John Carnley (1703-1778), a successful merchant and landowner based in Lancashire. His wealth and influence allowed him to acquire significant estates in the area.
Another notable individual with the Carnley surname was Samuel Carnley (1832-1908), a 19th-century English industrialist and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the coal mining industry and used his wealth to support various charitable causes in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne.
While the Carnley name has its roots in northern England, it has since spread to other parts of the United Kingdom and beyond, with bearers of the surname found in various parts of the world today.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Carnley
Among Census respondents with the surname Carnley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Carnley 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 Carnley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 1,674
- Two or more races5.6% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 13
- Black or African American0.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Carnley
Carnley 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
#15,449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,896
+60 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 628 places
2020
#15,343
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,842
-54 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Up 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,821 | 1,836 | 0.68 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,449 | 1,896 | 0.64 | +60 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 628 places |
| 2020 | #15,343 | 1,842 | 0.62 | -54 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 106 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 Carnley 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 | #15,449 | #15,343 | 0.7% |
| Count | 1,896 | 1,842 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.62 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Carnley bearers went from 1,896 to 1,842 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,449 to #15,343.
FAQ
Carnley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Carnley?
Name Census estimates that about 2,112 living Americans carry the surname Carnley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,289 residents.
How common is Carnley?
Carnley ranks #15,343 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,842 people with the surname Carnley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,112), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Carnley.
Has Carnley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Carnley went from 1,896 recorded bearers to 1,842. That is a decrease of 54 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,449 to #15,343.
What does the Census say about the background of Carnley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Carnley, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.6%) and Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Carnley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (1,674 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Carnley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (5.6%), Hispanic (2.3%). 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 Carnley (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 Carnley mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name in England. 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 Carnley (0.62 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 many people have the surname Carnley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.