2000
#1,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,000
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.16
Uncommon Last name
Whaley
Derived from a place name meaning "from the whale island" in Old English, or denoting a whaler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,784 Americans carry the last name Whaley. That puts it at #1,613 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 13,830 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Whaley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Whaley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
25K
1 in 13,830
Census rank
#1,613
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
22K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,613 bearers of the surname Whaley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1613th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Whaley, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Whaley
The surname Whaley originated in England. It is derived from the Old English words "whael" and "leah", meaning a meadow where whales were stranded. The name likely originated in coastal areas where whales were frequently beached.
The earliest known record of the surname Whaley dates back to the 13th century in Derbyshire, England. The Whaley family held lands in the parish of Whaley Bridge, which was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 under the name "Welede".
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Whaley was Roger de Whaley, who lived in Whaley, Derbyshire, in the late 13th century. Another notable figure was Sir Henry Whaley (1510-1570), a Member of Parliament and prominent landowner in Whaley, Derbyshire.
During the English Civil War, Colonel Nathaniel Whaley (1595-1675) was a prominent Parliamentarian officer who fought against King Charles I. He later served as a member of the court that tried and sentenced the king to death.
In the 18th century, John Whaley (1733-1800) was a prominent merchant and shipowner in Lancaster, England, who played a significant role in the city's maritime trade.
The surname Whaley also has connections to Ireland. In the 17th century, Colonel Piers Whaley (c. 1630-1696) was an Irish soldier and landowner who served in the Parliamentarian army during the English Civil War and later settled in County Wexford, Ireland.
Other notable individuals with the surname Whaley include Sir Thomas Whaley (1766-1800), an English politician and landowner in Lancashire, and John Whaley (1786-1828), an Irish-born judge and politician who served as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Whaley
Among Census respondents with the surname Whaley, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Whaley bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Whaley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.3% · 16,928
- Black or African American14.3% · 3,087
- Two or more races4.1% · 879
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 512
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 124
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 83
Timeline
Historical Census data for Whaley
Whaley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,575
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,833
+833 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 7.74
Rank movement Down 91 places
2020
#1,613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,613
-1,220 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 7.23
Rank movement Down 38 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,484 | 22,000 | 8.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,575 | 22,833 | 7.74 | +833 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 91 places |
| 2020 | #1,613 | 21,613 | 7.23 | -1,220 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 38 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Whaley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,575 | #1,613 | -2.4% |
| Count | 22,833 | 21,613 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 7.74 | 7.23 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Whaley bearers went from 22,833 to 21,613 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 38 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,575 to #1,613.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Whaley
FAQ
Whaley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Whaley?
Name Census estimates that about 24,784 living Americans carry the surname Whaley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 13,830 residents.
How common is Whaley?
Whaley ranks #1,613 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,613 people with the surname Whaley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,784), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Whaley.
Has Whaley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Whaley went from 22,833 recorded bearers to 21,613. That is a decrease of 1,220 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,575 to #1,613.
What does the Census say about the background of Whaley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Whaley, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.3%. The next largest groups are Black (14.3%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Whaley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.3% (16,928 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Whaley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.3%), Black (14.3%), Two or More Races (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Whaley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Whaley mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "from the whale island" in Old English, or denoting a whaler. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Whaley (7.23 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Whaley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.