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

Hunley, 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 Hunley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hunley in America

Hunley is the 7323rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hunley surname appeared 4,556 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 Hunley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hunley 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 Hunley

The surname Hunley originated in England during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "huna" meaning "bear cub" and "leah" meaning "clearing" or "meadow." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a clearing where bear cubs were found.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hunley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Huneleah," referring to a place in Wiltshire.

In the 13th century, the name was spelled "Huneleye" in the Hundred Rolls, which were administrative records from the time of King Edward I. During this period, the surname began to be used more widely as a hereditary family name.

Notable individuals with the surname Hunley include:

1. John Hunley (c. 1555-1616), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Westbury in Wiltshire.

2. Thomas Hunley (1617-1688), an English clergyman and author, best known for his work "A Treatise on the Lord's Supper."

3. William Hunley (1720-1796), a British colonial settler in Virginia, who fought in the American Revolutionary War.

4. Horace Hunley (1823-1863), a Confederate marine engineer and submariner during the American Civil War, best known for designing and operating the first successful combat submarine, the H.L. Hunley.

5. George Hunley (1865-1942), an American politician who served as the 25th Governor of New Mexico from 1917 to 1919.

The surname Hunley has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Hunley in Shropshire, which was recorded as "Huneleye" in the Domesday Book, and Hunley in Hampshire, which was recorded as "Hunelei" in the 13th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hunley

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

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

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