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

Fairley, 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 Fairley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fairley in America

Fairley is the 5441st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fairley surname appeared 6,398 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 Fairley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fairley 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 Fairley

The surname Fairley has its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "faerlic," meaning "wonderful" or "marvelous." The name likely originated in the Lowlands region of Scotland, where it was first recorded in the form of "Fayrly" or "Fairlie."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists those who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The document mentions a "William de Fayrly" from the county of Lanark.

The surname Fairley is also associated with several place names in Scotland, such as Fairlie in Ayrshire and Fairley in Renfrewshire. These place names may have contributed to the development and spread of the surname in the region.

In the 16th century, the Fairley name appeared in the records of the Scottish Reformation. John Fairley, born around 1520, was a Protestant reformer and minister in the Church of Scotland. He played a prominent role in the spread of Protestantism in the country.

Another notable individual with the surname Fairley was Robert Fairley, a Scottish poet and writer who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He is known for his work "The Rivin' Awa'," which depicts the struggles of the Scottish Covenanters during the religious conflicts of the time.

In the 19th century, John Fairley (1809-1872) was a Scottish politician and businessman who served as a Member of Parliament for the Ayr Burghs constituency. He was also involved in the development of the railway industry in Scotland.

Another prominent figure with the Fairley surname was Sir Andrew Fairley (1868-1949), a Scottish-born Australian businessman and philanthropist. He made a significant contribution to the development of the mining industry in Australia and was a generous supporter of educational institutions.

Finally, one cannot overlook the contribution of Sir Patrick Fairley (1901-1984), a Scottish-born Australian medical researcher and parasitologist. He played a crucial role in the development of treatments for tropical diseases, particularly malaria, and received numerous honors for his work.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fairley

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

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

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

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