# Greeley (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/greeley/  
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 Old French.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | French |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,246 |
| US rank (2010) | 7,796 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 72,714 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.6% (4,178 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɹiːli/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Grealey |

## Etymology

Nickname for someone with a pock-marked face, from Old French greslé (“pitted, scarred”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Greeley 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) | 92% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 2.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.0% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Greeley in the United States.

## People named Greeley

- Horace Greeley, American politician and publisher (1811–1872)

## Similar surnames

Grell, Greely, Grella, Grewal, Gurley, Gurrola, Grillo, Gourley, Gurule, Gorrell, Grill, Groll.

## 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.