# Morley (surname)

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

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 11,028 |
| US rank (2010) | 3,275 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 27,997 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.0% (10,815 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Old English mor (“moor”) + leah (“wood”). Equivalent to moor + -ley (“lea”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Morley 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) | 91% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 3.4% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5% |
| Two or more races | 1.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Morley in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Morley

- Edward W. Morley, American physical chemist
- Bob Morley, Australian actor
- Robert Morley, British actor (1908–1992)
- Christopher Morley, American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet (1890–1957)
- Karen Morley, American film actress (1909-2003)
- Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist, epigrapher, Mayanist scholar, and WWI spy for the U.S. (1883–1948)
- Julia Morley, British beauty pageant organizer
- Henry Morley, British academic (1822–1894)
- Michael D. Morley, American mathematician (1930–2020)

## Similar surnames

Morrell, Morel, Morrill, Morelli, Marley, Morell, Morillo, Morello, Morreale, Murley, Merle, Murillo.

## 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.