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

Insley, 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 Insley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Insley in America

Insley is the 18766th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Insley surname appeared 1,461 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 Insley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Insley 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 Insley

The surname Insley originated in England and can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ine" meaning "a meadow" and "leah" meaning "a clearing in a woodland or forest." The name likely referred to someone who lived in a clearing or meadow within a wooded area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Insley appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name was spelled as "Ineslea" in this document.

The Insley surname was primarily found in the counties of Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire in the Midlands region of England during the medieval period. Some variations in spelling included Insleye, Insley, Insley, and Inslie.

In the 13th century, a man named Richard de Innesleye was recorded as a witness in a legal document in Staffordshire. Another early bearer of the name was John Insley, who was born in Derbyshire around 1430.

Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire were also areas where the Insley name was present in the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable individual was Robert Insley, a merchant from Nottingham who lived from 1550 to 1620.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, a Captain Thomas Insley fought for the Parliamentarian forces against King Charles I. He was born in Yorkshire in 1610 and died in battle in 1645.

Another historical figure was Sir John Insley, a member of the British East India Company who served as a governor of the Company's settlements in India from 1720 to 1725.

In the 18th century, the Insley surname was found in various places across England, such as Lincolnshire, where a notable family owned land and estates. One member of this family was William Insley, a prominent landowner who lived from 1735 to 1810.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Insley

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

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

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

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