How common is the surname Varley?

2,068 people in the United States had the surname Varley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 149,297 Americans. It ranked 14,447th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Varley?

In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Varley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Varley?

John Varley, American science fiction author (1947–2025), followed by William Varley.

Where is the surname Varley most common?

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

Is the surname Varley getting more or less common?

Less common. 2,103 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,068 in 2010, down 1.7%.

The surname Varley

A surname, carried by 2,068 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex V640

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Varley is more common than 91.1% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,068 people named Varley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 149,297 Americans. That is down 1.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,103.

#14,447

rank among US surnames

2,068

people in 2010

0.7

per 100,000 Americans

-1.7%

change since 2000 (was #13,300)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#14,443	Busick	2,069	149,225
#14,447	Hulme	2,068	149,297
#14,453	Lobb	2,067	149,369

Who is named Varley

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

93% of people named Varley identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.1% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

White (not Hispanic) 93%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.1%
Two or more races 0.9%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Varleys

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Varley
American science fiction author (1947–2025)
William Varley
American rower (1880-1968)
John Varley
British artist (1778–1842)
Lynn Varley
American comic book colorist (born 1958)
C. F. Varley
British engineer and inventor (1828–1883)

Notable Varleys come mostly from the United States (3), the United Kingdom (1) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Varley

Varela

Varley has the Soundex code V640, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code V640.

Questions

How common is the surname Varley?: 2,068 people in the United States had the surname Varley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 149,297 Americans. It ranked 14,447th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Varley?: In the 2010 Census, 93% of people named Varley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Varley?: John Varley, American science fiction author (1947–2025), followed by William Varley.
Where is the surname Varley most common?: Wikidata records people named Varley in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Is the surname Varley getting more or less common?: Less common. 2,103 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,068 in 2010, down 1.7%.