NameCensus.

UK surname

Foley

An Irish occupational surname referring to a descendant of a plunderer or marauder.

In the 1881 census there were 3,760 people recorded with the Foley surname, ranking it #1,218 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 9,462, ranked #681, up from #1,218 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes and Dudley. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Merthyr Tydfil, Kirklees and Brent.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Foley is 9,810 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 151.6%.

1881 census count

3,760

Ranked #1,218

Modern count

9,462

2016, ranked #681

Peak year

2010

9,810 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Foley had 3,760 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #1,218 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 9,462 in 2016, ranked #681.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 4,721 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Foley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Foley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Foley 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 1,834 #1,575
1861 historical 2,043 #1,415
1881 historical 3,760 #1,218
1891 historical 3,923 #1,225
1901 historical 4,721 #1,195
1911 historical 4,321 #1,199
1997 modern 9,043 #693
1998 modern 9,385 #696
1999 modern 9,395 #702
2000 modern 9,331 #705
2001 modern 9,120 #705
2002 modern 9,328 #705
2003 modern 9,222 #695
2004 modern 9,196 #697
2005 modern 9,159 #692
2006 modern 9,183 #685
2007 modern 9,184 #696
2008 modern 9,231 #696
2009 modern 9,559 #680
2010 modern 9,810 #673
2011 modern 9,622 #680
2012 modern 9,358 #690
2013 modern 9,558 #685
2014 modern 9,626 #683
2015 modern 9,508 #682
2016 modern 9,462 #681

Geography

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Where Foleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, London parishes, Dudley and Edinburgh. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Merthyr Tydfil, Kirklees and Brent. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Dudley Staffordshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Edinburgh Edinburgh

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Merthyr Tydfil 002 Merthyr Tydfil
2 Merthyr Tydfil 003 Merthyr Tydfil
3 Merthyr Tydfil 008 Merthyr Tydfil
4 Kirklees 006 Kirklees
5 Brent 031 Brent

Forenames

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First names often paired with Foley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Foley

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Foley, 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 Foley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Foley 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

Social Rented Sector Families with Children

Group

Social Rented Sector Pockets

Within London, Foley is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Pockets, part of Social Rented Sector Families with Children. 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

Found in pockets across London, residents are less likely to live in private sector rentals and fewer adults are students. Fewer individuals work in transport and communications occupations relative to the Supergroup average. More individuals identify as Black and were born in Africa.

Wider London pattern

Residents of these neighbourhoods include sizable numbers identifying with ethnicities originating outside Europe, particularly in Africa or Bangladesh. The proportion of residents identifying as White, Indian or Pakistani is well below the London average. Neighbourhood age profiles are skewed towards younger adults, and above average numbers of families have children. Rates of use of English at home are below average. Marriage rates are low, and levels of separation or divorce are above average. Housing is predominantly in flats, and renting in the social rented sector the norm - few residents are owner occupiers. Housing is often overcrowded, and neighbourhoods are amongst the most densely populated in London. Disability rates are above average, although levels of unpaid care provision are about average. Employment is in caring, leisure, other service occupations, sales and customer service, or process, plant, and machine operation. Part time working and full-time student study are common. Levels of unemployment are slightly above average. Most residents have only Level 1 or 2 educational qualifications or have completed apprenticeships.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Foley 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

Foley falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

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

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Foley 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 - Irish

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

Meaning and origin of Foley

The surname Foley is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic words "faille" or "failghea", meaning a leader or ruler. It is believed to have originated in County Kerry, Ireland, in the Middle Ages.

The name Foley was first recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the 13th century. The earliest known bearer of the name was Dermot O'Foley, a chieftain of the O'Foley clan in County Kerry, who lived around 1200 AD.

In the 16th century, the Foley family was prominent in the area around Dingle, County Kerry, and they held significant land and influence in the region. The name is also associated with the town of Callan, County Kilkenny, where the Foleys were a prominent family in the 17th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Foley appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, a collection of medieval records from the 16th century, where a Thomas Foley is mentioned in 1564.

A famous bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Foley (1617-1677), an English businessman and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1648-1649. He was a prominent figure in the English Civil War and supported the Parliamentarian cause.

Another notable Foley was John Henry Foley (1818-1874), an Irish sculptor known for his works in Dublin, including the O'Connell Monument and the sculptures on the Customs House façade.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Foley (1735-1817), an Irish immigrant who served as a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Paul Foley (1644-1699) was an English lawyer and politician who served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1695 to 1698, during the reign of King William III.

The name Foley has also been associated with various place names, such as Foley Street in Dublin, Ireland, and Foley, Alabama, in the United States, which was named after a prominent local family.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Foley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Foley 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. Lancashire leads with 754 Foleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.73x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 754 1.73x
Middlesex 587 1.60x
Yorkshire 312 0.86x
Surrey 189 1.05x
Lanarkshire 187 1.57x
Glamorgan 179 2.79x
Durham 153 1.40x
Staffordshire 144 1.16x
Kent 109 0.87x
Cheshire 108 1.33x
Midlothian 102 2.07x
Gloucestershire 100 1.39x
Worcestershire 83 1.73x
Monmouthshire 72 2.71x
Hampshire 69 0.92x
Warwickshire 65 0.70x
Devon 64 0.84x
Wiltshire 54 1.66x
Essex 44 0.61x
Angus 41 1.20x
Berkshire 35 1.27x
Sussex 32 0.52x
Northumberland 29 0.53x
Cumberland 24 0.76x
Herefordshire 22 1.46x
Cornwall 16 0.38x
Royal Navy 16 3.65x
Fife 14 0.64x
Buckinghamshire 13 0.58x
Derbyshire 12 0.21x
East Lothian 11 2.26x
Dumfriesshire 10 1.23x
Stirlingshire 9 0.66x
Channel Islands 8 0.73x
Lincolnshire 8 0.14x
Nottinghamshire 8 0.16x
Somerset 8 0.14x
Denbighshire 7 0.50x
Nairnshire 7 6.23x
Pembrokeshire 7 0.60x
Dorset 6 0.25x
Brecknockshire 5 0.68x
Norfolk 5 0.09x
Northamptonshire 5 0.14x
Shropshire 5 0.16x
Cambridgeshire 4 0.17x
Flintshire 4 0.40x
Leicestershire 4 0.10x
Renfrewshire 4 0.14x
West Lothian 4 0.72x
Bedfordshire 2 0.11x
Hertfordshire 2 0.08x
Oxfordshire 2 0.09x
Radnorshire 2 0.67x
Ayrshire 1 0.04x
Dunbartonshire 1 0.10x
Roxburghshire 1 0.15x
Suffolk 1 0.02x

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 117 Foleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 4.41x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 117 4.41x
Govan 86 2.92x
Salford 73 5.69x
St George In East London 56 16.19x
St Marylebone London 56 2.85x
Birmingham 53 1.71x
Rowley Regis 47 13.58x
Barony 45 1.49x
Manchester 45 2.29x
Bermondsey 40 3.65x
Hulme 38 4.17x
Cardiff St Mary 36 10.20x
Merthyr Tydfil 36 5.85x
Dudley 35 5.99x
Camberwell 34 1.45x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 32 1.61x
Birkenhead 31 4.79x
Aberavon 29 49.20x
Blackburn 29 2.50x
Dundee 29 2.28x
West Derby 28 2.19x
Glasgow 27 1.28x
St Pancras London 27 0.91x
Middlesbrough 26 5.48x
Portsea 26 1.76x
Islington London 25 0.70x
Poplar London 25 3.60x
Deptford St Paul 24 2.48x
Preston 24 2.06x
Bedwellty 23 4.90x
Bishopwearmouth 23 2.45x
Dewsbury 23 6.15x
Lambeth 23 0.72x
Oldham 23 1.63x
St George Hanover Square 23 3.55x
Toxteth Park 23 1.56x
Bristol St Paul In 22 11.45x
Great Bolton 22 3.81x
Wakefield 22 7.86x
Bethnal Green London 21 1.31x
Leeds 21 1.02x
Stockton On Tees 21 3.98x
Battersea 20 1.48x
Fisherton Anger 20 33.22x
Kirkdale 20 2.72x
Linthorpe 20 9.19x
Wigan 20 3.28x
Hackney London 19 0.92x
Swansea Town 19 3.62x
Trevethin 19 7.57x
Ardwick 17 4.32x
Cradley 17 39.13x
Newcastle On Tyne All Sts 17 5.20x
Westoe 17 2.74x
Whitechapel London 17 4.69x
Barrow In Furness 16 2.70x
Gorton 16 3.90x
Hammersmith London 16 1.77x
Hyde 16 6.68x
Kensington London 16 0.78x
Ryhope 16 21.06x
St Luke London 16 2.71x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 15 2.21x
Clifton 15 4.11x
Everton 15 1.08x
Plymouth St Andrew 15 2.54x
Shoreditch London 15 0.94x
St Botolph Bishopsgate 15 28.81x
St George Martyr London 15 20.13x
Aldershot 14 5.54x
Chelsea London 14 1.26x
Edinburgh Old Church 14 35.39x
Limehouse London 14 3.47x
Paddington London 14 1.04x
South Leith 14 2.52x
St Andrew Holborn London 14 8.79x
Tottington Lower End 14 6.75x
Croydon 13 1.31x
Fulham London 13 2.44x
St Woollos 13 4.38x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 359
Ellen 112
Elizabeth 104
Margaret 88
Catherine 81
Ann 69
Annie 62
Sarah 59
Bridget 48
Jane 42
Eliza 31
Hannah 27
Emma 26
Kate 25
Alice 24
Julia 22
Emily 21
Louisa 19
Agnes 18
Anne 17
Martha 15
Frances 14
Florence 13
Johanna 13
Maria 13
Edith 11
Fanny 11
Elizth. 10
Susan 10
Caroline 9
Isabella 9
Catharine 8
Esther 8
Harriet 7
Helen 7
Rose 7
Ada 6
Charlotte 6
Norah 6
Rosina 6
Amelia 5
Amy 5
Johannah 5
Lizzie 5
Margt. 5
Winifred 5
Betsy 4
Honora 4
Margret 4
Polly 4

Top male names

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

Name Count
John 295
James 144
William 140
Thomas 136
Patrick 80
Michael 75
Edward 62
Joseph 46
George 42
Henry 41
Daniel 36
Charles 23
Arthur 20
Francis 20
Peter 20
Richard 20
Timothy 19
Samuel 18
Cornelius 17
Robert 17
Frederick 16
Alfred 15
Frank 15
Jeremiah 12
Albert 10
Denis 10
Martin 10
David 9
Dennis 9
Maurice 9
Andrew 8
Herbert 8
Walter 8
Ernest 7
Matthew 6
Wm. 6
Bartholomew 5
Morris 5
Philip 5
Stephen 5
Thos. 5
Christopher 4
Edwd. 4
Jas. 4
Jno. 4
Mathew 4
Willm. 4
Edmund 3
J. 3
Mark 3

FAQ

Foley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Foley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 3,760 people were recorded with the Foley surname. That placed it at #1,218 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Foley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 9,462 in 2016. That gives Foley a modern rank of #681.

What does the Foley surname mean?

An Irish occupational surname referring to a descendant of a plunderer or marauder.

What does the Foley map show?

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