How common is the surname Farley?

38,528 people in the United States had the surname Farley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,014 Americans. It ranked 898th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Farley?

Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (1964–1997), followed by Dot Farley.

Where is the surname Farley most common?

Wikidata records people named Farley in the United States.

How do you pronounce Farley?

Farley is /ˈfɑɹli/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Farley getting more or less common?

More common. 37,116 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 38,528 in 2010, up 3.8%.

Is Farley also a first name?

Yes. Farley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Farley

An English place surname, carried by 38,528 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈfɑɹli/ 2 syllables Soundex F640 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Farley is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Old English fearn (“fern”) + lēah (“woodland”). Equivalent to fern + -ley (“lea”) and doublet of Farnley.

Farley is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 38,528 people named Farley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 8,014 Americans. That is up 3.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 37,116.

#898

rank among US surnames

38,528

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.8%

change since 2000 (was #849)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#889	Blackburn	39,097	7,897
#890	Dunlap	39,063	7,904
#891	Gould	38,924	7,932
#892	Duffy	38,835	7,950
#893	Vaughan	38,830	7,951
#894	Herring	38,733	7,971
#895	McKay	38,681	7,982

Who is named Farley

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Farley identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Farleys

13 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Chris Farley
American actor and comedian (1964–1997)
Dot Farley
American actress and scenario writer (1881-1971)
Melissa Farley
American psychologist, born 1942
Kevin Farley
American actor and singer, born 1965
Morgan Farley
American actor (1898–1988)
James Farley
American politician (1888-1976)
James T. Farley
American politician (1829-1886)
James Farley
American actor (1882-1947)
Walter Farley
American writer (1915-1989)
John Farley
American actor and comedian, born 1968
Dick Farley
American basketball player (1932–1969)
Farley Keith
American DJ, born 1962

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Farleigh

Surnames that sound like Farley

Farley has the Soundex code F640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F640.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Farley come from?: From Old English fearn (“fern”) + lēah (“woodland”). Equivalent to fern + -ley (“lea”) and doublet of Farnley.
How common is the surname Farley?: 38,528 people in the United States had the surname Farley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 8,014 Americans. It ranked 898th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Farley?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Farley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Farley?: Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (1964–1997), followed by Dot Farley.
Where is the surname Farley most common?: Wikidata records people named Farley in the United States.
How do you pronounce Farley?: Farley is /ˈfɑɹli/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Farley?: Farley is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Farley getting more or less common?: More common. 37,116 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 38,528 in 2010, up 3.8%.
What are other spellings of Farley?: Farleigh.
Is Farley also a first name?: Yes. Farley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.