2000
#1,824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,081
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.70
Uncommon Last name
Staley
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked in or lived near a stable or stall.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,505 Americans carry the last name Staley. That puts it at #2,073 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,573 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Staley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Staley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
20K
1 in 17,573
Census rank
#2,073
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,009 bearers of the surname Staley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2073rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Staley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Staley
The surname Staley is of English origin and dates back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the Old English word "stæli" or "stali," which translates to "a stallion" or "a stout, strong person." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone of a robust or hardy nature.
Staley is also thought to be a locational name, derived from places in England called Staveley or Stayley. These place names stem from the Old English words "stæf" meaning "staff" or "stave," and "leah" meaning "a meadow" or "a clearing." Thus, the name could have originated from someone who resided in such a location.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Staley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Staueleia" and "Stavelei." This was a survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England in 1066.
In the 13th century, the name was documented as "Staveley" in the Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire, which were records of financial transactions related to taxes and rents paid to the Crown.
Notable individuals with the surname Staley throughout history include:
1. Robert Staley (c. 1395-1460), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire in 1447.
2. John Staley (c. 1590-1657), an English clergyman and controversialist known for his writings against Puritan theology.
3. William Staley (1809-1867), an English industrialist and founder of the Staley Ironworks in Staffordshire.
4. Walter Staley (1859-1933), an American politician who served as the Mayor of Los Angeles from 1897 to 1899.
5. Edmund Staley (1867-1944), an English artist and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life and landscapes.
The name Staley has also been associated with various place names, such as Staveley in Derbyshire, Stayley in Cheshire, and Staveley in Cumbria, all of which trace their origins to the Old English words mentioned earlier.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Staley
Among Census respondents with the surname Staley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Staley bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Staley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.7% · 13,558
- Black or African American11.8% · 2,000
- Two or more races4.4% · 741
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 498
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 101
Timeline
Historical Census data for Staley
Staley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,998
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,080
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 6.13
Rank movement Down 174 places
2020
#2,073
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,009
-1,071 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 5.69
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,824 | 18,081 | 6.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,998 | 18,080 | 6.13 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Down 174 places |
| 2020 | #2,073 | 17,009 | 5.69 | -1,071 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 75 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Staley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,998 | #2,073 | -3.8% |
| Count | 18,080 | 17,009 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 6.13 | 5.69 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Staley bearers went from 18,080 to 17,009 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,998 to #2,073.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Staley
FAQ
Staley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Staley?
Name Census estimates that about 19,505 living Americans carry the surname Staley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,573 residents.
How common is Staley?
Staley ranks #2,073 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,009 people with the surname Staley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,505), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Staley.
Has Staley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Staley went from 18,080 recorded bearers to 17,009. That is a decrease of 1,071 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,998 to #2,073.
What does the Census say about the background of Staley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Staley, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.7%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Staley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.7% (13,558 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Staley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.7%), Black (11.8%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Staley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Staley mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked in or lived near a stable or stall. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Staley (5.69 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Staley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.