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

Curley, 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 Curley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Curley in America

Curley is the 2936th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Curley surname appeared 12,211 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Curley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Curley 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 Curley

The surname Curley is of Irish origin and has its roots in the Gaelic name Ó Coirighe, which translates to "descendant of Coirighe." The name Coirighe itself is derived from the Irish word "corrach," meaning "small and withered" or "curly-haired." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have had curly hair or a small, withered appearance.

The Curley name can be traced back to County Mayo, Ireland, where it was most prevalent in the baronies of Carra, Erris, and Gallen. The name is also found in counties Sligo, Roscommon, and Galway. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, with variations in spelling such as Curely, Curly, and Curlie.

Historical records show that the Curley surname appeared in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The name is also mentioned in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of documents from the reigns of Henry VIII and his successors.

One notable bearer of the Curley surname was Edmond Curley (1673-1747), an Irish Franciscan friar and historian who wrote a history of the Irish province of the Franciscan Order. Another was John Curley (1826-1903), an Irish-born American politician who served as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, from 1899 to 1900.

Other historical figures with the Curley surname include James Michael Curley (1874-1958), an American politician who served as the 49th Governor of Massachusetts and four-time mayor of Boston; Curley Culp (born 1946), an American professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; and Michael Curley (1879-1972), an Australian politician who served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives.

The Curley name has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Curley's Hill in County Mayo and Curley's Cross in County Galway. These place names likely derived from individuals or families with the Curley surname who lived in or owned land in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Curley

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

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

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

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