How common is the surname Foley?

51,865 people in the United States had the surname Foley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,953 Americans. It ranked 661st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Foley?

Scott Foley, American actor, followed by Mick Foley.

Where is the surname Foley most common?

Wikidata records people named Foley in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

How do you pronounce Foley?

Foley is /ˈfoʊli/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Foley getting more or less common?

More common. 50,852 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 51,865 in 2010, up 2.0%.

The surname Foley

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 51,865 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈfoʊli/ 2 syllables Soundex F400

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Foley is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Foghladha (“descendant of Foghlaidh”), a byname from foghlaí (“plunderer, pillager, marauder, robber”).

Foley is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 51,865 people named Foley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 5,953 Americans. That is up 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 50,852.

#661

rank among US surnames

51,865

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2%

change since 2000 (was #605)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#652	Farrell	52,321	5,901
#653	Wyatt	52,211	5,913
#654	Dalton	52,184	5,916
#655	Horn	52,138	5,922
#656	Barron	52,070	5,929
#657	Phelps	52,044	5,932
#658	Yu	52,035	5,933

Who is named Foley

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

92% of people named Foley identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.3% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.1% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 92%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.1%
Two or more races 1.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Foleys

19 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Scott Foley
American actor, born 1972
Mick Foley
American professional wrestler, born 1965
James Foley
American journalist, 1973–2014
James Foley
American film director and screenwriter (1953–2025)
John Patrick Foley
American Roman Catholic archbishop and cardinal (1935–2011)
Tom Foley
American politician from Washington (1929–2013)
Ellen Foley
American singer and actress, born 1951
Red Foley
American country musician (1910–1968)
Hugh Foley
American rower, 1944–2016
Jeremy Foley
American actor, born 1983
Clare Foley
American actress, born 2001
Jack Foley
American sound effects developer, 1891–1967

Notable Foleys come mostly from the United States (16), the United Kingdom (2) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Foley

Foley has the Soundex code F400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code F400.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Foley come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Foghladha (“descendant of Foghlaidh”), a byname from foghlaí (“plunderer, pillager, marauder, robber”).
How common is the surname Foley?: 51,865 people in the United States had the surname Foley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 5,953 Americans. It ranked 661st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Foley?: In the 2010 Census, 92% of people named Foley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.3% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Foley?: Scott Foley, American actor, followed by Mick Foley.
Where is the surname Foley most common?: Wikidata records people named Foley in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Foley?: Foley is /ˈfoʊli/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Foley?: Foley is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Foley getting more or less common?: More common. 50,852 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 51,865 in 2010, up 2.0%.