2000
#6,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,947
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.83
Rare Last name
Walley
Derived from a place name meaning "foreigner's clearing" in Old English, or from a Norman French nickname meaning "foreigner."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,312 Americans carry the last name Walley. That puts it at #6,992 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 64,525 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walley 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 Walley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.3K
1 in 64,525
Census rank
#6,992
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,632 bearers of the surname Walley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6992nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walley, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walley
The surname Walley is of English origin, deriving from the Old English 'walh', meaning a stranger or foreigner, specifically used to refer to Britons and Celts who lived among the Anglo-Saxons. It was later adopted as a personal name during the Middle Ages.
The name Walley is believed to have originated in Staffordshire, England, in the 12th century. It was often used as a locational surname, referring to someone who lived in or near the town of Walley, which is now known as Wolley or Woolley.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Walley can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1190, which mentions a William de Walley. Additionally, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 include references to people with the surname Walley in various counties, including Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire.
In the 14th century, the name Walley appeared in the Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire, where several individuals with this surname were recorded as landowners or taxpayers. One notable entry is that of John Walley, who was listed as a resident of Wolley in 1327.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Walley. However, it does mention several place names that may have contributed to the formation of this surname, such as Walhalehyrd in Berkshire and Wallingas in Norfolk.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the surname Walley. One of the earliest was Sir John Walley (c. 1335-1408), a Member of Parliament for Staffordshire and a prominent landowner in the region. Another was Thomas Walley (c. 1470-1542), an English priest and theologian who served as the Warden of All Souls College, Oxford.
Other notable bearers of this surname include Sir William Walley (1584-1668), an English judge and Member of Parliament during the reign of Charles I; John Walley (1618-1674), an English puritan minister and author; and Thomas Walley (1759-1804), an English engraver and painter.
The surname Walley has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Walley in Cheshire, Walley Bridge in Staffordshire, and Walley Grange in Shropshire. These locations may have contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname in different parts of the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walley
Among Census respondents with the surname Walley, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Walley 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 Walley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.2% · 3,620
- Black or African American13.6% · 631
- Two or more races3.7% · 170
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 139
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walley
Walley 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
#7,078
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,730
-217 bearers (-4.4%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Down 739 places
2020
#6,992
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,632
-98 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.55
Rank movement Up 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,339 | 4,947 | 1.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,078 | 4,730 | 1.60 | -217 bearers (-4.4%) | Down 739 places |
| 2020 | #6,992 | 4,632 | 1.55 | -98 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 86 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 Walley 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 | #7,078 | #6,992 | 1.2% |
| Count | 4,730 | 4,632 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.60 | 1.55 | -3.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walley bearers went from 4,730 to 4,632 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,078 to #6,992.
FAQ
Walley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walley?
Name Census estimates that about 5,312 living Americans carry the surname Walley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 64,525 residents.
How common is Walley?
Walley ranks #6,992 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.55 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,632 people with the surname Walley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,312), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.55 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.55 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Walley.
Has Walley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walley went from 4,730 recorded bearers to 4,632. That is a decrease of 98 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,078 to #6,992.
What does the Census say about the background of Walley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walley, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.2%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Walley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.2% (3,620 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.2%), Black (13.6%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Walley (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 Walley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "foreigner's clearing" in Old English, or from a Norman French nickname meaning "foreigner." 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 Walley (1.55 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 Americans have the surname Walley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.