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

Roley, 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 Roley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Roley in America

Roley is the 29986th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Roley surname appeared 783 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Roley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Roley 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 Roley

The surname ROLEY is believed to have originated from the Old English word "roelic" or "rolic," which means "illustrious" or "famous." This name is thought to have first emerged in the 8th or 9th century in the Anglo-Saxon regions of England.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name ROLEY can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Rolei" in reference to a landowner in the county of Lincolnshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in parts of England by the 11th century.

In the medieval period, the ROLEY surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire. It is believed to have been associated with several small villages or hamlets bearing similar names, such as Rowley, Rouley, or Roulee.

One notable bearer of the ROLEY name was Sir John Roley, a 14th-century knight from Yorkshire who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the French. He was born around 1320 and died in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.

Another prominent figure was William Roley, a 16th-century scholar and translator who was born in Yorkshire in 1535. He is best known for his English translation of the philosophical work "The Six Books of a Commonwealth" by the French writer Jean Bodin.

In the 17th century, the ROLEY surname gained some prominence in the field of literature with the poet and playwright Thomas Rowley, who was born in Leicestershire in 1621 and died in 1688. His collection of poetry, titled "The Poems of Thomas Rowley," was highly influential in its time.

A more recent historical figure with the ROLEY surname was Charles Roley, an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for the state of Pennsylvania from 1837 to 1839.

Another notable bearer of the ROLEY name was Elizabeth Roley, a 19th-century British botanist and plant collector who made significant contributions to the study of flora in the Himalayas. She was born in 1828 and died in 1891.

While the ROLEY surname has maintained a presence throughout various regions of England and beyond, its roots can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon era, with its earliest recorded instances appearing in the 11th century and carrying connotations of renown and distinction.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Roley

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

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

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

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