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

Feely, 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 Feely surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Feely in America

Feely is the 17851st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Feely surname appeared 1,567 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Feely.

We can also compare 2010 data for Feely 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 Feely

The surname Feely is believed to have originated in Ireland, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "féile," which means "generosity" or "hospitality." This suggests that the name was likely originally given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone known for their generous or hospitable nature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Feely surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a "Feely" family from County Monaghan in the year 1322.

In the 16th century, the Feely surname appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Monarchs, a collection of official documents from the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. This record indicates that the Feely name was concentrated in the counties of Monaghan, Cavan, and Louth at that time.

A notable early bearer of the Feely surname was Edmond Feely, a member of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He was born in County Monaghan around 1620 and played a significant role in the uprising against English rule in Ireland.

Another prominent figure with the Feely surname was Patrick Feely, a 19th-century Irish Catholic priest and author. He was born in County Cavan in 1810 and wrote several works on Catholic theology and Irish history.

In the late 18th century, the Feely family established a presence in County Tipperary, where they were known as landowners and farmers. One member of this branch, Michael Feely, was a prominent activist in the Irish Nationalist movement in the late 19th century.

The Feely surname has also been found in various spellings throughout history, including Feely, Fealy, Feeley, and Fehily. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the phonetic nature of early record-keeping.

While the Feely surname is most commonly associated with Ireland, it has also been found in other parts of the British Isles and among Irish immigrant communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Feely

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

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

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

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