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

Gravley, 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 Gravley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gravley in America

Gravley is the 15995th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gravley surname appeared 1,815 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 Gravley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gravley 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 Gravley

The surname Gravley is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period, likely derived from a place name or an occupational term. One theory suggests that it may have roots in the Old English words "græf" meaning a grove or small wood, and "leah" meaning a clearing or meadow, indicating that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a woodland clearing.

Another possibility is that Gravley is a variant spelling of the Old English word "grav-leah," which means "gravel clearing" or "gravel meadow," suggesting an association with a specific geographic location characterized by gravelly soil.

Early records of the name are scarce, but it is believed to have been present in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name include John de Graveley, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199, and Robert de Graveleye, listed in the Feet of Fines for Oxfordshire in 1242.

One notable early bearer of the name was Sir William de Graveley, a knight who lived in the 14th century and is mentioned in the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535 as holding lands in Graveley, Hertfordshire. This place name, which shares a similar spelling to the surname, may have been the origin of the family's name.

In the 16th century, the name appears in various records, including the Visitation of Cheshire in 1613, where a John Graveley is listed. Another individual of note was Richard Graveley (c. 1550-1620), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of University College, Oxford.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname continued to be found in various parts of England, with bearers such as John Graveley (1630-1695), a Church of England clergyman, and Thomas Graveley (1694-1762), a notable landowner and Justice of the Peace in Staffordshire.

As the name spread across England, variations in spelling emerged, including Gravely, Gravely, and Gravly. One notable bearer of the Gravely spelling was Sir Henry Gravely (1838-1907), a British army officer who served in the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

While the surname Gravley is not among the most common in England, it has a rich history that can be traced back to the medieval period, with various theories about its origins and connections to specific locations and occupations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gravley

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

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

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

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