NameCensus.

UK surname

Feely

An Irish surname derived from the Irish Gaelic word "failidhe" meaning "hospitable" or "generous."

In the 1881 census there were 186 people recorded with the Feely surname, ranking it #13,448 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 447, ranked #10,857, up from #13,448 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hamilton, Govan Combination and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Rutland, Carlisle and Summerston North.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Feely is 493 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 140.3%.

1881 census count

186

Ranked #13,448

Modern count

447

2016, ranked #10,857

Peak year

1999

493 bearers

Map years

7

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Feely had 186 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #13,448 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 447 in 2016, ranked #10,857.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 186 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Spacious Rural Living.

Feely surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Feely surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Feely 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 72 #20,720
1861 historical 133 #16,835
1881 historical 186 #13,448
1891 historical 126 #20,604
1901 historical 145 #18,426
1911 historical 85 #24,322
1997 modern 476 #9,665
1998 modern 484 #9,841
1999 modern 493 #9,765
2000 modern 482 #9,901
2001 modern 472 #9,873
2002 modern 468 #10,117
2003 modern 471 #9,902
2004 modern 460 #10,120
2005 modern 459 #10,053
2006 modern 451 #10,221
2007 modern 461 #10,153
2008 modern 453 #10,345
2009 modern 472 #10,286
2010 modern 475 #10,445
2011 modern 467 #10,474
2012 modern 467 #10,384
2013 modern 474 #10,421
2014 modern 478 #10,428
2015 modern 461 #10,636
2016 modern 447 #10,857

Geography

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Where Feelys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hamilton, Govan Combination, Manchester, Liverpool and Bradford. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Rutland, Carlisle, Summerston North and Conwy. 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 Hamilton Lanark
2 Govan Combination Lanark
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 Bradford Yorkshire, West Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Rutland 002 Rutland
2 Rutland 003 Rutland
3 Carlisle 007 Carlisle
4 Summerston North Glasgow City
5 Conwy 009 Conwy

Forenames

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First names often paired with Feely

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Feely

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Feely, 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

Retired Professionals

Group

Spacious Rural Living

Nationally, the Feely surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Spacious Rural Living, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Feely household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

These predominantly ageing households typically have no resident dependent children. Most are owner-occupiers and live in detached houses in low density residential developments (although renting is more common than in the rest of the Supergroup). White ethnicity predominates. Residents are typically beyond retirement age but those still in work have managerial, professional or skilled trade occupations. White ethnicity and Christian religious affiliation predominate. Neighbourhoods are located throughout rural UK.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Skilled Trades and Construction Workers

Within London, Feely is most associated with areas classed as Skilled Trades and Construction Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

These scattered, peripheral and often low residential density neighbourhoods house more workers in skilled trades and construction. Few households rent social housing and there are few students. Multiple car ownership is higher than the Supergroup average, perhaps because of poorer public transport connectivity. Incidence of mixed or multiple ethnicity is below the Supergroup average, and the absence of individuals identifying as Pakistani or Other Asian groups is also less pronounced. Flatted accommodation is less dominant than elsewhere in the Supergroup.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Feely is most concentrated in decile 4 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

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

4
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Feely falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Feely is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

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

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

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

Meaning and origin of Feely

The surname Feely is believed to have originated in Ireland, where it first appeared in the 12th century. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "féile," which means "generosity" or "hospitality." This suggests that the name was likely originally given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone known for their generous or hospitable nature.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Feely surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a "Feely" family from County Monaghan in the year 1322.

In the 16th century, the Feely surname appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Monarchs, a collection of official documents from the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. This record indicates that the Feely name was concentrated in the counties of Monaghan, Cavan, and Louth at that time.

A notable early bearer of the Feely surname was Edmond Feely, a member of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He was born in County Monaghan around 1620 and played a significant role in the uprising against English rule in Ireland.

Another prominent figure with the Feely surname was Patrick Feely, a 19th-century Irish Catholic priest and author. He was born in County Cavan in 1810 and wrote several works on Catholic theology and Irish history.

In the late 18th century, the Feely family established a presence in County Tipperary, where they were known as landowners and farmers. One member of this branch, Michael Feely, was a prominent activist in the Irish Nationalist movement in the late 19th century.

The Feely surname has also been found in various spellings throughout history, including Feely, Fealy, Feeley, and Fehily. These variations likely arose due to regional dialects and the phonetic nature of early record-keeping.

While the Feely surname is most commonly associated with Ireland, it has also been found in other parts of the British Isles and among Irish immigrant communities in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Feely families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Feely 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. Lanarkshire leads with 42 Feelys recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.24x.

County Total Index
Lanarkshire 42 7.24x
Lancashire 37 1.74x
Durham 16 3.00x
Warwickshire 13 2.87x
Stirlingshire 12 18.13x
Yorkshire 12 0.67x
Glamorgan 11 3.52x
Staffordshire 10 1.65x
Nottinghamshire 8 3.31x
Midlothian 4 1.66x
Cumberland 3 1.94x
Essex 3 0.85x
Hampshire 2 0.54x
Kent 2 0.33x
Angus 1 0.60x
Ayrshire 1 0.74x
Cambridgeshire 1 0.88x
Cheshire 1 0.25x
Devon 1 0.27x
Lincolnshire 1 0.35x
Perthshire 1 1.24x
Renfrewshire 1 0.72x
Surrey 1 0.11x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 16 Feelys recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.37x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 16 12.37x
Glasgow 13 12.61x
Birmingham 12 7.95x
Govan 10 6.97x
Hamilton 10 61.77x
Newcastle Higher 10 471.70x
Helmington Row 8 321.29x
Nottingham St Mary 8 12.79x
West Bromwich 8 23.06x
Lesmahagow 7 114.01x
Campsie 6 165.29x
Falkirk 6 38.71x
Great Bolton 5 17.72x
Castleton 4 18.81x
Horton In Bradford 4 14.40x
Thorne 4 181.00x
Whitburn 4 322.58x
Bishop Auckland 3 41.90x
Bradford 3 6.97x
Aighton Bailey 2 194.17x
Aldershot 2 16.23x
Edinburgh New North 2 95.69x
Handsworth 2 13.40x
Kirknewton 2 289.86x
Manchester 2 2.09x
West Ham 2 2.56x
Wigton 2 86.21x
Blackburn 1 1.76x
Burnley 1 5.57x
Carluke 1 18.98x
Crosscanonby 1 19.57x
Denton 1 21.19x
Dukinfield 1 5.46x
Dundee 1 1.61x
Eccleston In Prescot 1 9.35x
Harwich St Nicholas 1 36.50x
Lancaster 1 7.89x
Lewisham 1 3.06x
Llantwit Vairdre 1 28.49x
Maryhill 1 8.80x
Moulton 1 72.46x
Newton 1 6.09x
Perth East Church 1 13.16x
Plymouth St Andrew 1 3.47x
Renfrew 1 21.79x
Shorne 1 185.19x
Standish With Langtree 1 38.17x
Staveley 1 500.00x
Stewarton 1 37.59x
Sutton Coldfield 1 21.01x
Toxteth Park 1 1.39x
Wandsworth 1 5.79x
Willington 1 32.36x
Wisbech St Peter 1 17.54x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 12
Bridget 5
Ann 4
Sarah 4
Catherine 3
Emily 2
Agness 1
Alice 1
Anne 1
Annie 1
Bedelia 1
Charlotte 1
Delia 1
Eliza 1
Elizabeth 1
Ellen 1
Hannah 1
Harriett 1
Louisa 1
Lydia 1
Margaret 1
Maria 1
Martha 1
Rosanna 1
Rosstta 1
Selina 1
Susan 1
Winifred 1

Top male names

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

FAQ

Feely surname: questions and answers

How common was the Feely surname in 1881?

In 1881, 186 people were recorded with the Feely surname. That placed it at #13,448 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Feely surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 447 in 2016. That gives Feely a modern rank of #10,857.

What does the Feely surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Irish Gaelic word "failidhe" meaning "hospitable" or "generous."

What does the Feely map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Feely 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.