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

Wehrley, 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 Wehrley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Wehrley in America

Wehrley is the 84748th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Wehrley surname appeared 221 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 Wehrley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Wehrley 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 Wehrley

The surname WEHRLEY is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "wer" meaning "man" or "warrior," combined with the suffix "-ley" indicating a place of settlement. It likely originated in the 13th or 14th century in the region of Bavaria, where many place names incorporating "wehr" existed.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Nuremberg Hussitenkriege, a 15th-century chronicle documenting the Hussite Wars, where a certain Hanns Wehrley is mentioned as a participant. The name also appears in various German church records from the 16th and 17th centuries, often spelled as "Wehrle" or "Wehrli."

In the mid-17th century, a family bearing the name Wehrley is documented as residing in the town of Oberaudorf, located in the Bavarian region of Chiemgau. Johannes Wehrley (1620-1692), a prominent citizen and landowner, is recorded as having lived in this area.

As German immigration to North America increased in the 18th and 19th centuries, the name WEHRLEY began to appear in various records. One notable individual was Johann Georg Wehrley (1775-1856), a German immigrant who settled in Pennsylvania and became a successful farmer and businessman.

Another prominent figure was Johann Michael Wehrley (1832-1914), a German-American architect and civil engineer who designed several notable buildings in Cincinnati, Ohio, including the Cincinnati Music Hall and the Tyler Davidson Fountain.

In the realm of literature, the American author and poet Cullen Wehrley (1916-1997) gained recognition for his works exploring themes of nature and the human condition. His collections, such as "The Tending of Woods" and "The Carpenter's Breath," received critical acclaim.

While the name WEHRLEY may have evolved through various spellings and regional variations over the centuries, its roots can be traced back to the German-speaking regions of Bavaria, where it likely originated as a place name or occupational descriptor.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Wehrley

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

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

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

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