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

Kiley, 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 Kiley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kiley in America

Kiley is the 5255th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kiley surname appeared 6,639 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 Kiley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kiley 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 Kiley

The surname Kiley originates from Ireland and is derived from the Irish Gaelic name "O'Ceallaigh" or "Ua Ceallaigh", meaning "descendant of Ceallach". Ceallach was a personal name derived from the Irish word "ceall", meaning "church" or "monastery". The surname is believed to have emerged in the 10th or 11th century in County Offaly, Ireland.

The Kiley surname was first recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters in the 13th century, which was a chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention several members of the Ua Ceallaigh family, including Maolruanaidh Ua Ceallaigh, who died in 1031, and Donnchadh Ua Ceallaigh, who was the Bishop of Clonmacnoise in 1201.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there is no record of the surname Kiley. This suggests that the name had not yet spread to England at that time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Kiley is in the Irish Annals of Loch Cé, which mentions a Murchadh Ua Ceallaigh who was killed in 1188. Another early reference is in the Annals of Ulster, which mention a Domhnall Ua Ceallaigh who was the King of Uí Maine in 1227.

In the 16th century, the spelling of the surname began to evolve into more modern forms, including Kiely, Keely, and Kiley. One notable individual from this period was Sir John Keely, who was the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1554 to 1556.

Other notable individuals with the surname Kiley throughout history include:

1. Thomas Kiley (1828-1907), an American politician who served as the 37th Mayor of Boston from 1888 to 1890.

2. James Kiley (1887-1952), an Irish-American actor and playwright who appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films.

3. Brendan Kiely (born 1976), an American author known for his young adult novels, including "The Last True Poets of the Sea" and "All American Boys".

4. John Kiley (1901-1983), an American football player and coach who played for the Chicago Bears and later coached at the University of Notre Dame.

5. William Kiley (1919-1994), an American architect and urban planner who designed several prominent public spaces in cities across the United States, including the East Miami Plaza in Miami, Florida.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kiley

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

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

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

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