NameCensus.

UK surname

Greenley

A locative surname derived from a place name with 'green' and 'ley' (meadow) elements.

In the 1881 census there were 170 people recorded with the Greenley surname, ranking it #14,265 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 307, ranked #14,508, down from #14,265 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Hull Holy Trinity, London parishes and Leeds. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Kingston upon Hull, Ryedale and East Riding of Yorkshire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Greenley is 342 in 1997. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 80.6%.

1881 census count

170

Ranked #14,265

Modern count

307

2016, ranked #14,508

Peak year

1997

342 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Greenley had 170 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #14,265 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 307 in 2016, ranked #14,508.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 231 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Greenley surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Greenley surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Greenley 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 101 #17,036
1861 historical 168 #13,895
1881 historical 170 #14,265
1891 historical 227 #13,629
1901 historical 231 #13,805
1911 historical 219 #14,136
1997 modern 342 #12,379
1998 modern 338 #12,829
1999 modern 342 #12,829
2000 modern 334 #12,980
2001 modern 329 #12,921
2002 modern 337 #12,965
2003 modern 314 #13,419
2004 modern 313 #13,502
2005 modern 315 #13,375
2006 modern 311 #13,577
2007 modern 309 #13,760
2008 modern 314 #13,720
2009 modern 324 #13,689
2010 modern 328 #13,856
2011 modern 319 #14,000
2012 modern 310 #14,210
2013 modern 314 #14,273
2014 modern 315 #14,334
2015 modern 311 #14,369
2016 modern 307 #14,508

Geography

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Where Greenleys are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Hull Holy Trinity, London parishes, Leeds, Folkton and Filey. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Kingston upon Hull, Ryedale, East Riding of Yorkshire and Northumberland. 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 Hull Holy Trinity Yorkshire, East Riding
2 London parishes London 3
3 Leeds Yorkshire, West Riding
4 Folkton Yorkshire, North Riding
5 Filey Yorkshire, North Riding

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Kingston upon Hull 029 Kingston upon Hull, City of
2 Ryedale 008 Ryedale
3 East Riding of Yorkshire 008 East Riding of Yorkshire
4 Northumberland 004 Northumberland
5 Kingston upon Hull 017 Kingston upon Hull, City of

Forenames

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First names often paired with Greenley

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Greenley

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

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Greenley surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Greenley household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles

Group

European Enclaves

Within London, Greenley is most associated with areas classed as European Enclaves, part of Professional Employment and Family Lifecycles. 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

Many residents of these accessible neighbourhoods have wide-ranging non-UK European origins. Typically residing in privately rented flats, many residents live alone and are beyond normal retirement age. There are more students than elsewhere in the Supergroup, some of which live in communal establishments. Household residents are often drawn from different ethnic groups.

Wider London pattern

These neighbourhoods house people of all ages, predominantly of White British or European extraction. Resident turnover is low. Religious affiliation is less common than average and tends to be Christian if expressed. Homeownership, typically of terraced houses, is common but use of the social rented sector is not. Employment is typically in professional, managerial and associate professional or technical occupations. There are few full-time students. Level 4 qualifications are common. More households lack dependent children than have them which, considered alongside low levels of crowding and over-all age structure, indicates that many households may be post child-rearing and in late middle age. Incidence of disability is low, as is residence in communal establishments.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Greenley is most concentrated in decile 8 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.

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Greenley 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 Greenley 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 - British

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

Meaning and origin of Greenley

The surname Greenley is of English origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated from the Old English words 'grene' meaning green and 'leah' meaning a meadow or clearing, referring to someone who lived in a green meadow or clearing.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where it is spelled as 'Greneley'. This suggests that the name was already well-established in various parts of England by the late 13th century.

In the 14th century, the surname appeared in various records with different spellings, such as 'Greneleye', 'Greneley', and 'Greneleigh'. These variations reflect the lack of standardized spelling during that time period.

The Greenley name has been linked to several place names in England, including Greenley in Wiltshire and Greenley in Staffordshire. It is possible that some early bearers of the name may have derived their surname from these locations.

One notable bearer of the Greenley surname was John Greenley, a 15th-century English merchant and alderman of London. He was born around 1420 and served as an alderman from 1468 until his death in 1489.

In the 16th century, William Greenley, born in 1524, was a prominent figure in the English Reformation. He was a Protestant reformer and a close associate of John Foxe, the author of the famous work 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs'.

During the 17th century, Thomas Greenley, born in 1635, was a noted English philosopher and scholar. He authored several works on metaphysics and ethics, and his writings were widely read and discussed in academic circles of the time.

In the 18th century, the Greenley name gained further prominence with the birth of Sir Robert Greenley (1720-1795), a British naval officer who served in several major conflicts, including the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War.

Another notable figure with the Greenley surname was Emily Greenley (1832-1901), a 19th-century English writer and advocate for women's rights. She was a prolific author and contributed to several publications, promoting the cause of women's education and suffrage.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Greenley families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Greenley 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. Yorkshire leads with 123 Greenleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 7.53x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 123 7.53x
Lancashire 16 0.82x
Surrey 13 1.62x
Caernarfonshire 5 7.50x
Northumberland 3 1.22x
Essex 2 0.61x
Lanarkshire 2 0.38x
Nottinghamshire 2 0.90x
Cheshire 1 0.27x
Lincolnshire 1 0.38x
Middlesex 1 0.06x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Holy Trinity in Yorkshire leads with 14 Greenleys recorded in 1881 and an index of 35.63x.

Place Total Index
Holy Trinity 14 35.63x
Leeds 12 13.01x
Bridlington 10 267.38x
Camberwell 7 6.65x
Foston On Wolds 7 4375.00x
Old Malton 7 679.61x
Wykeham 7 2187.50x
Kilham 6 869.57x
Muston 6 2727.27x
Newington 6 133.33x
Streatham 6 49.06x
Wardleworth 6 53.67x
Bangor 5 77.76x
Ebberston 5 1515.15x
Manchester 5 5.68x
New Malton 5 256.41x
Singleton 5 2500.00x
Argam 4 20000.00x
Filey 4 303.03x
Scarborough 4 26.95x
Elswick 3 15.32x
Hunmanby 3 394.74x
Beeford 2 500.00x
Finningley 2 952.38x
Folkton Flixton 2 1052.63x
Glasgow 2 2.11x
Horton In Bradford 2 7.84x
Long Riston 2 952.38x
Walthamstow 2 17.08x
York St Denis In 2 277.78x
Chester St Oswald 1 15.17x
Christ Church Newgate 1 129.87x
Clifford Cum Boston 1 68.03x
Corringham 1 238.10x
Doncaster 1 8.38x
Halifax 1 4.17x
Hutton Bushell 1 357.14x
Marsden In Almondbury 1 67.11x
Rise 1 909.09x
Saddleworth 1 7.94x
Sculcoates 1 3.86x
Settle 1 80.00x
Sigglesthorne 1 833.33x
Snainton 1 227.27x
Stonegrave 1 1111.11x
Yedingham 1 1250.00x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 14
Sarah 6
Elizabeth 5
Ann 4
Ada 3
Emma 3
Harriet 3
Margaret 3
Anne 2
Annie 2
Eliza 2
Emily 2
Hannah 2
Martha 2
Selina 2
Amelia 1
Anney 1
Cathrine 1
Clara 1
Dinah 1
Easter 1
Edith 1
Ellen 1
Ester 1
Esther 1
Euginie 1
Eva 1
Faith 1
Frances 1
Grace 1
Harriett 1
Henrietta 1
Isabel 1
Jane 1
Jasne 1
Jemmia 1
Jessey 1
Julia 1
Lily 1
Lydia 1
Mabel 1
Margret 1
Marion 1
Minnie 1
Pheby 1
Rachel 1
Rhoda 1
Ruth 1
Serena 1
Tryphina 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
George 14
John 10
Thomas 8
William 7
Francis 5
James 5
Edward 4
Alfred 2
Benjamin 2
Ingram 2
Joseph 2
Richard 2
Robert 2
Charles 1
Christan 1
Edmond 1
Edwin 1
Fred 1
Henry 1
Humphry 1
Josep 1
Patrick 1
Tom 1

FAQ

Greenley surname: questions and answers

How common was the Greenley surname in 1881?

In 1881, 170 people were recorded with the Greenley surname. That placed it at #14,265 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Greenley surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 307 in 2016. That gives Greenley a modern rank of #14,508.

What does the Greenley surname mean?

A locative surname derived from a place name with 'green' and 'ley' (meadow) elements.

What does the Greenley map show?

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