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

Hanley, 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 Hanley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hanley in America

Hanley is the 1864th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hanley surname appeared 19,240 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Hanley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hanley 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 Hanley

The surname Hanley has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational surname, deriving from the town of Hanley in Staffordshire, which was recorded as "Henlei" in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name itself is believed to be derived from the Old English words "henn" meaning "chicken" and "leah" meaning "woodland clearing," suggesting that the area was once a clearing in a forest where chickens were raised.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1199, where a Richard de Hanley is mentioned. In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, there is a reference to a Henry de Henley, indicating the variations in spelling that were common during that time.

In the 14th century, a notable bearer of the name was Sir John Hanley, a prominent landowner and knight who served in the Court of King Edward III (1312-1377). He is mentioned in several historical records from that period.

During the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Parish of St. Mary's in Handsworth, near Birmingham, where a family of Hanleys resided. One of the earliest recorded Hanleys in this parish was John Hanley, who was born around 1520.

In the 17th century, a prominent figure was Sir Thomas Hanley (1590-1670), an English politician and lawyer who served as a Member of Parliament for Lichfield. He was also a member of the Council of State during the Commonwealth period.

Another notable bearer of the name was James Hanley (1801-1860), an English architect who designed several significant buildings in Liverpool, including the Anglican Cathedral and the Sailors' Home.

In the 19th century, Sir William Hanley (1819-1900) was a prominent English businessman and philanthropist, who founded the Staffordshire pottery firm "Hanley and Sons." He was also a Member of Parliament and served as the mayor of Stoke-on-Trent.

Throughout history, the surname Hanley has been associated with various places, including the town of Hanley itself, as well as the districts of Hanley in Stoke-on-Trent and Hanley Swan in Worcestershire. The name has also been recorded with variations such as Henley, Handley, and Hanly.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hanley

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hanley, 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!