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

Whaley, 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 Whaley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Whaley in America

Whaley is the 1575th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Whaley surname appeared 22,833 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Whaley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Whaley 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 Whaley

The surname Whaley originated in England. It is derived from the Old English words "whael" and "leah", meaning a meadow where whales were stranded. The name likely originated in coastal areas where whales were frequently beached.

The earliest known record of the surname Whaley dates back to the 13th century in Derbyshire, England. The Whaley family held lands in the parish of Whaley Bridge, which was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name "Welede".

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Whaley was Roger de Whaley, who lived in Whaley, Derbyshire, in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Sir Henry Whaley (1510-1570), a Member of Parliament and prominent landowner in Whaley, Derbyshire.

During the English Civil War, Colonel Nathaniel Whaley (1595-1675) was a prominent Parliamentarian officer who fought against King Charles I. He later served as a member of the court that tried and sentenced the king to death.

In the 18th century, John Whaley (1733-1800) was a prominent merchant and shipowner in Lancaster, England, who played a significant role in the city's maritime trade.

The surname Whaley also has connections to Ireland. In the 17th century, Colonel Piers Whaley (c. 1630-1696) was an Irish soldier and landowner who served in the Parliamentarian army during the English Civil War and later settled in County Wexford, Ireland.

Other notable individuals with the surname Whaley include Sir Thomas Whaley (1766-1800), an English politician and landowner in Lancashire, and John Whaley (1786-1828), an Irish-born judge and politician who served as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Whaley

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

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

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

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