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

Farley, 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 Farley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farley in America

Farley is the 898th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farley surname appeared 38,528 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Farley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farley 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 Farley

The surname Farley has its origins in England, tracing back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "fearn" meaning fern and "leah" meaning a meadow or woodland clearing. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a fern-covered meadow or forest clearing.

The earliest known record of the name Farley dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions several individuals with variations of the name such as Fernleh and Fernleah. This suggests that the name was already well-established in various parts of England by the 11th century.

Over the centuries, the name Farley has been found in numerous historical records and documents, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed individuals with the surname Farlegh. Other early spellings include Farleye, Farnley, and Farnleigh.

One notable person with the surname Farley was Sir John Farley (c. 1530-1600), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Somerset during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another prominent figure was Sir Samuel Farley (1594-1670), an English lawyer and politician who represented Taunton in the Long Parliament.

In the 18th century, John Farley (1713-1793) was a renowned English clockmaker and inventor, known for his contributions to the development of precision timekeeping instruments. His work influenced the design and construction of clocks and watches for generations.

The name Farley has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Farley Hill in Berkshire and Farley Green in Surrey. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting the settlement of families with the Farley name in those areas.

Other notable individuals with the surname Farley include James Lewis Farley (1888-1976), an American politician who served as the Postmaster General under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John Farley (1842-1918), an Irish-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Farley's Ophthalmic Hospital in Boston.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farley

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!