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

Curlee, 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 Curlee surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Curlee in America

Curlee is the 12953rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Curlee surname appeared 2,371 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Curlee.

We can also compare 2010 data for Curlee 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 Curlee

The surname Curlee is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "cyrle," which means a churlish or rustic person. It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century.

The name was initially found in the counties of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire in central England. It is thought to have been an occupational surname given to those who worked as peasants or serfs on manorial lands.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire in 1332, where a John Cyrle is mentioned. The spelling variations of the name included Curle, Curlee, Cyrle, and Kerley.

In the 16th century, the Curlee surname is found in the parish records of Yoxall, Staffordshire, where a Thomas Curlee was baptized in 1568. Around the same time, a John Curlee was recorded in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Derbyshire in 1598.

Notable individuals with the surname Curlee throughout history include:

1. John Curlee (c. 1570-1645), an English clergyman and author from Derbyshire.
2. William Curlee (1611-1679), an English landowner and magistrate from Warwickshire.
3. Elizabeth Curlee (1635-1712), a prominent Quaker from Staffordshire who faced persecution for her religious beliefs.
4. Henry Curlee (1745-1823), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War.
5. James Curlee (1788-1858), an American politician and judge from Kentucky who served as the Secretary of State of Kentucky from 1824 to 1828.

The name Curlee has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Curlee Hill in Derbyshire and Curlee Farm in Staffordshire, further solidifying its historical roots in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Curlee

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

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 Curlee 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 Curlee 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 Curlee was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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