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

Danley, 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 Danley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Danley in America

Danley is the 7528th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Danley surname appeared 4,420 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 Danley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Danley 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 Danley

The surname Danley originates from England, tracing its roots back to the medieval era. It is believed to be a locational name, derived from a place called Daneley or Danley, which was likely a small village or hamlet in one of the English counties.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from the year 1195, where it appears as "de Daneleye." This early spelling variation suggests that the name may have originated from a place with a name similar to "Daneley" or "Daneley."

The name Danley is thought to be derived from the Old English words "dene," meaning a valley, and "ley," signifying a clearing or meadow. Thus, the name could have referred to someone who lived in a valley clearing or a meadow-like area.

During the 13th century, the name appears in various records, such as the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1268, where it is recorded as "Daneleye." This demonstrates the spread of the name across different regions of England.

One notable figure bearing the Danley surname was Sir John Danley, a prominent knight who lived during the 14th century. He fought alongside Edward, the Black Prince, in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 and was knighted for his bravery on the battlefield.

In the 16th century, the name is found in the records of the Parish of St. Mary's in Gloucestershire, where a certain William Danley is mentioned in the baptismal register from 1578.

Another historical figure of note was Thomas Danley, a member of the English gentry who lived in the 17th century. He served as a Justice of the Peace and was a landowner in the county of Wiltshire.

During the 18th century, the Danley family had established a presence in various parts of England, with records showing members of the family in counties such as Dorset, Somerset, and Yorkshire.

One notable bearer of the name from this period was Robert Danley, a successful merchant and entrepreneur who lived in Bristol in the late 1700s. He was involved in the transatlantic trade and amassed considerable wealth.

As the centuries progressed, the Danley surname continued to spread across England and beyond, with some members of the family emigrating to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Danley

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

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

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

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