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

Kerley, 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 Kerley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kerley in America

Kerley is the 6375th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kerley surname appeared 5,342 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 Kerley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kerley 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 Kerley

The surname Kerley originates from the 12th century in the northern English county of Yorkshire. It is derived from the Old English words 'cyrr' meaning a bend or turn, and 'lēah' meaning a meadow or field. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a bend in a river or stream surrounded by meadows.

One of the earliest records of the name appears in the 1379 Poll Tax Returns for Yorkshire, where a John de Kerley is listed. The prefix 'de' indicating he was from the place called Kerley or Kerlegh, an old spelling variation.

By the 16th century, the surname had evolved to the modern spelling of Kerley. Parish records from 1568 in the village of Tadcaster, Yorkshire show a Thomas Kerley was born that year. Kerley Beck, a small stream near the village, may be the origin of the place name the surname derived from.

An early notable bearer of the name was Sir Ralph Kerley (1580-1647), an English landowner and Member of Parliament who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War. His estate of Kersall Cell in Lancashire was confiscated by Parliament in 1645.

Moving into the 18th century, John Kerley (1708-1788) was a successful merchant and shipowner from Bristol, England who traded extensively with the American colonies before the Revolutionary War.

In the 19th century, Thomas Kerley (1819-1898) emigrated from Yorkshire to Australia in 1841, becoming a prosperous sheep farmer near Goulburn, New South Wales. His descendants continue to use the Kerley name in that region.

Another 19th century bearer was William Kerley (1835-1912), a prolific English landscape painter who exhibited works at the Royal Academy and is represented in galleries across the United Kingdom.

The surname Kerley maintains a strong connection to its Yorkshire origins, appearing predominantly in northern England census records through the modern era, while also finding representation in other English-speaking nations through later emigration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kerley

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

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

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

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