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

Dalley, 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 Dalley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dalley in America

Dalley is the 18910th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dalley surname appeared 1,444 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dalley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dalley 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 Dalley

The surname Dalley is believed to have originated in England, with roots dating back to the medieval period. It is thought to be a locational surname, derived from the place name Dalley, which was a small village in Buckinghamshire. The name Dalley itself is believed to stem from the Old English words "dæl" meaning "valley" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing," suggesting the name was given to someone who lived in or near a woodland clearing in a valley.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Dalley surname can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Buckinghamshire from 1198, where a William de Dalleyis mentioned. This indicates that the name was already established in the region by the late 12th century. The Dalley surname also appears in various other historical records, such as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which lists a Richard de Dalleys.

In the 14th century, the Dalley surname is recorded in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York, which includes an entry for a John Dalley in 1345. This suggests that the name had spread beyond its original locale and had become more widespread across England by this time.

Some notable individuals who bore the Dalley surname throughout history include:

1. Sir William Dalley (c. 1540 - c. 1610), an English landowner and member of parliament for Lincolnshire in the late 16th century.
2. John Dalley (1622 - 1695), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Colchester.
3. Thomas Dalley (1674 - 1749), a British naval officer who served during the War of the Spanish Succession and later became a Member of Parliament.
4. Sir William Dalley (1834 - 1888), a British colonial statesman who served as the Attorney-General of New South Wales and later became the Premier of New South Wales.
5. Robert Dalley (1861 - 1924), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in the late 19th century.

While the Dalley surname may have originated in a specific region of England, it has since spread across the globe, carried by various individuals and families over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dalley

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

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

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

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