# Begley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/begley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 8,435 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,200 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 36,603 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.7% (8,292 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɛɡli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Beaglaoich (“descendant of Beaglaoch”), a personal name composed of the elements beag (“small”) + laoch (“warrior, hero”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Begley in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.8% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Begley in the United States.

## People named Begley

- Ed Begley, American actor (1901–1970)
- Ed Begley, Jr., American actor
- Michael Begley, American rower (1872–1938)
- Michael Joseph Begley, American bishop (1909-2002)
- Sharon Begley, American journalist

## Similar surnames

Bagley, Bogle, Beckley, Beagle, Bigley, Beegle, Beasley, Beesley, Beazley, Buckley, Boswell, Bigelow.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.