Find out how popular the last name Crossley is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Crossley.

Crossley, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Crossley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Crossley in America

Crossley is the 5868th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Crossley surname appeared 5,878 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Crossley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Crossley to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Crossley

The surname Crossley has its origins in England and is thought to date back to the 12th century. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the town of Crossley, now known as Crosley, near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. The name is thought to come from the Old English words "cros" meaning cross and "leah" meaning a woodland clearing, referring to a cross or crucifix situated in a forest clearing.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379, where a John de Croslegh is listed. The name is also found in various other medieval records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1523 which mentions a Henry Crosseley. The variant spellings Crosseley, Crosseley, and Crossly were also common in these early records.

The name Crossley is associated with several notable historical figures. One of the earliest was William Crossley (1572-1642), an English clergyman and Puritan minister who served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Aldermanbury, London. Another was Sir Francis Crossley (1579-1636), an English politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1637.

In the 18th century, the Crossley family became prominent industrialists in the textile industry in Yorkshire. John Crossley (1742-1837) founded a successful carpet manufacturing business in Halifax, and his sons, John (1766-1837) and Thomas (1768-1858), expanded the business further. The family's wealth and influence grew, and they became major employers and landowners in the region.

Notable Crossleys in more recent history include Martha Crossley (1874-1963), an English writer and activist for women's rights, and Sir Vivian Crossley (1904-1995), a British businessman and politician who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament for Stretford from 1935 to 1945.

The Crossley name has also been associated with several place names, including Crossley Hall in Huddersfield, which was built by the Crossley family in the 19th century, and Crossley Bridge, a village in West Yorkshire named after the family's textile mills in the area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Crossley

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Crossley.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Crossley was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Crossley has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Crossley was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Crossley, please contact us.

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