NameCensus.

UK surname

Cooley

Derived from the Irish Ó Cúlaoich, meaning "descendant of Cúlaoich," a personal name of uncertain origin.

In the 1881 census there were 771 people recorded with the Cooley surname, ranking it #4,799 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,289, ranked #4,647, up from #4,799 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Wolverhampton, London parishes and Newchurch. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Doncaster, Gateshead and South Holland.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Cooley is 1,391 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 67.2%.

1881 census count

771

Ranked #4,799

Modern count

1,289

2016, ranked #4,647

Peak year

2010

1,391 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Cooley had 771 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #4,799 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,289 in 2016, ranked #4,647.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 1,077 in 1911.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Cooley surname distribution map

The map shows where the Cooley surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Cooley surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Cooley over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 540 #4,666
1861 historical 677 #3,966
1881 historical 771 #4,799
1891 historical 872 #4,710
1901 historical 1,012 #4,713
1911 historical 1,077 #4,307
1997 modern 1,332 #4,320
1998 modern 1,378 #4,328
1999 modern 1,374 #4,373
2000 modern 1,331 #4,475
2001 modern 1,303 #4,471
2002 modern 1,342 #4,461
2003 modern 1,275 #4,556
2004 modern 1,285 #4,530
2005 modern 1,280 #4,494
2006 modern 1,281 #4,501
2007 modern 1,309 #4,456
2008 modern 1,315 #4,471
2009 modern 1,342 #4,483
2010 modern 1,391 #4,424
2011 modern 1,386 #4,396
2012 modern 1,327 #4,488
2013 modern 1,324 #4,573
2014 modern 1,327 #4,594
2015 modern 1,301 #4,628
2016 modern 1,289 #4,647

Geography

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Where Cooleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Wolverhampton, London parishes, Newchurch and St Marylebone. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Doncaster, Gateshead, South Holland, Ashford and Isle of Wight. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Wolverhampton Staffordshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Newchurch Hampshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 St Marylebone London (North Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Doncaster 018 Doncaster
2 Gateshead 003 Gateshead
3 South Holland 004 South Holland
4 Ashford 009 Ashford
5 Isle of Wight 012 Isle of Wight

Forenames

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First names often paired with Cooley

These lists show first names that appear often with the Cooley surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Cooley

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Cooley, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Cooley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Cooley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Young Families and Mainstream Employment

Group

Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins

Within London, Cooley is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector and Diverse Origins, part of Young Families and Mainstream Employment. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Scattered across London’s Inner and Outer suburbs, residents of these neighbourhoods are typically housed in the social rented sector. Although terraced and semi-detached houses predominate, more residents live in flats than elsewhere in the Supergroup. Neighbourhoods are more ethnically diverse than the Supergroup average. Those identifying as of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and some Black ethnicities are more prevalent. Europeans born in a overseas non-EU countries make up more of the lower proportion of residents identifying as White. Few residents are very old (85+). Employment in distribution, hotels and restaurants is more common than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

Many families in these neighbourhoods have young children. Housing is principally in the social rented sector, in terraced or semi-detached units. While over-all residential densities are low, overcrowding is also prevalent locally. Residents are drawn from a range of ethnic minorities, with many identifying as Black and above average numbers born in Africa. Numbers identifying as of Chinese, Indian or White ethnicity are below average. Levels of proficiency in English are below average. Levels of separation or divorce and incidence of disability are both above average. Education is typically limited to Level 1, 2, or apprenticeship qualifications. Few residents work in professional or managerial occupations but the employment structure is otherwise diverse: it includes skilled trades, caring, leisure and other service occupations, sales and customer service occupations, construction, and work as process, plant, and machine operatives.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Cooley is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Cooley falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Cooley is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 50-60 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

8
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Cooley, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Cooley

The surname Cooley originated in England and traces back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "cu" meaning cow and "leah" meaning meadow or clearing, suggesting the name referred to someone who lived near a cow pasture or meadow.

One of the earliest known records of the name is in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire from 1273, which mentions a Hugo de Coueley. Other early spellings include Couley, Cowley, and Coweley.

The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain any instances of the name Cooley, as it seems to have emerged later. However, it does record several places with similar names like Cowley in Oxfordshire and Cowleigh in Wiltshire, which could be related to the origin of the surname.

One of the first notable individuals with the name was Sir John Cooley (c. 1490-1556), an English landowner and member of parliament for Gloucestershire during the reign of Queen Mary I.

In the 17th century, Benjamin Cooley (1617-1684) was a prominent early settler of Springfield, Massachusetts, and one of the founders of the town of Longmeadow.

During the American Revolutionary War, Obadiah Cooley (1746-1826) served as a captain in the Continental Army and fought in several major battles.

In the literary world, James Cooley (1841-1906) was a British author and poet known for his works on rural life in Shropshire.

Another notable figure was William Forbes Cooley (1797-1876), an American educator and the first president of Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.

These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the surname Cooley, which has its roots in the pastoral landscapes of medieval England.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Cooley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Cooley surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 176 Cooleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.35x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 176 2.35x
Surrey 81 2.22x
Lancashire 55 0.62x
Leicestershire 51 6.15x
Lincolnshire 47 3.93x
Yorkshire 47 0.63x
Northumberland 45 4.04x
Staffordshire 39 1.54x
Hampshire 31 2.02x
Kent 26 1.02x
Berkshire 23 4.10x
Hertfordshire 23 4.46x
Sussex 19 1.51x
Nottinghamshire 18 1.78x
Warwickshire 16 0.85x
Northamptonshire 14 1.99x
Buckinghamshire 11 2.43x
Derbyshire 6 0.51x
Durham 6 0.27x
Cumberland 5 0.78x
Gloucestershire 5 0.34x
Glamorgan 4 0.31x
Pembrokeshire 4 1.68x
Lanarkshire 3 0.12x
Denbighshire 2 0.71x
Devon 2 0.13x
Shropshire 2 0.31x
Angus 1 0.14x
Cheshire 1 0.06x
Dumfriesshire 1 0.61x
Essex 1 0.07x
Monmouthshire 1 0.18x
Royal Navy 1 1.12x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Teddington London in Middlesex leads with 21 Cooleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 123.89x.

Place Total Index
Teddington London 21 123.89x
Camberwell 20 4.18x
Leicester St Margaret 19 9.39x
Clerkenwell London 18 10.19x
Southwark St George Martyr 17 11.29x
Bicker 16 864.86x
Chelsea London 15 6.65x
Edmonton 15 24.88x
Kenton 15 937.50x
Wolverhampton 15 7.72x
Moulton 14 243.06x
Sheffield 14 5.93x
St Marylebone London 14 3.50x
Twickenham 14 43.64x
Carisbrooke 13 61.06x
Kingston On Thames 13 14.85x
Northchurch 12 217.79x
Hampstead London 11 9.44x
Islington London 11 1.52x
Salford 11 4.21x
Walsall Foreign 10 7.67x
Belgrave 9 48.08x
Birmingham 9 1.43x
Lambeth 9 1.38x
Newcastle On Tyne St 9 15.60x
Leicester Black Friars 8 148.15x
Leicester St Nicholas 8 170.21x
Rudgwick 8 277.78x
Stanwell 8 144.40x
Sunninghill 8 102.70x
Worksop 8 26.75x
Cookham 7 39.98x
Fawdon 7 752.69x
Little Bolton 7 6.13x
Nether Hallam 7 6.98x
Newington 7 2.53x
St Pancras London 7 1.16x
Whippingham 7 60.29x
Bow London 6 6.30x
Brightside Bierlow 6 4.13x
Deptford St Paul 6 3.05x
Ecclesall Bierlow 6 3.98x
Holbeach 6 45.05x
Northampton Priory St 6 14.21x
Aston 5 0.96x
Chatham 5 7.12x
Gorton 5 5.99x
Kensington London 5 1.20x
Leicester St Mary 5 7.46x
Manchester 5 1.25x
Newbury 5 27.79x
Northampton St Sepulchre 5 13.97x
Stoke Upon Trent 5 1.87x
Berkhampstead 4 34.51x
Bethnal Green London 4 1.23x
Boston 4 11.02x
Gelligaer 4 13.45x
Great Missenden 4 71.81x
Kirkdale 4 2.68x
Moss Side 4 8.56x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 4 6.02x
North Mundham 4 320.00x
Pembroke St Mary 4 13.06x
Radcliffe 4 9.35x
Radford 4 7.81x
St George Hanover Square 4 3.03x
Ardwick 3 3.75x
Barnes 3 19.46x
Doncaster 3 5.54x
Friston 3 1250.00x
Longbenton 3 6.36x
Mile End Old Town London 3 1.88x
Newport 3 36.06x
Ponteland 3 263.16x
Portsea 3 1.00x
Pudsey 3 7.57x
Tetbury 3 36.06x
Toxteth Park 3 1.00x
Ventnor 3 20.56x
Westminster St Margaret 3 8.31x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Cooley surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 57
Elizabeth 20
Sarah 18
Alice 17
Jane 16
Charlotte 13
Annie 12
Ellen 12
Emily 12
Ann 11
Eliza 11
Kate 9
Emma 8
Margaret 8
Fanny 7
Matilda 7
Louisa 6
Rose 6
Ada 5
Anne 5
Maria 5
Caroline 4
Catherine 4
Clara 4
Eliz. 4
Hannah 4
Martha 4
Edith 3
Elizth. 3
Esther 3
Frances 3
Harriet 3
Harriett 3
Jessie 3
Lucy 3
Rachel 3
Bridget 2
Celia 2
Florence 2
Lillian 2
Lilly 2
Lizzie 2
Louise 2
M. 2
Margaretta 2
Minnie 2
Phoebe 2
Vashti 2
Elizebeth 1
Elizh. 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Cooley surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 50
John 36
George 30
Charles 26
James 21
Henry 20
Thomas 19
Alfred 14
Walter 10
Frederick 9
Richard 9
Joseph 8
Samuel 8
Edward 7
David 6
Albert 5
Frank 5
Tom 5
Arthur 4
Daniel 4
Ernest 4
Martin 4
Ralph 4
Leonard 3
Matthew 3
Michael 3
Robert 3
Wm. 3
Eadie 2
Francis 2
Fredrick 2
Harry 2
Joshua 2
Josiah 2
Luke 2
Peter 2
Stephen 2
Thos. 2
Timothy 2
Barnabus 1
Benjamin 1
Dennis 1
Gerald 1
Havey 1
Hopton 1
Patric 1
Patrick 1
Percy 1
Saml. 1
Wm.Harry 1

FAQ

Cooley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Cooley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 771 people were recorded with the Cooley surname. That placed it at #4,799 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Cooley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,289 in 2016. That gives Cooley a modern rank of #4,647.

What does the Cooley surname mean?

Derived from the Irish Ó Cúlaoich, meaning "descendant of Cúlaoich," a personal name of uncertain origin.

What does the Cooley map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Cooley bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.