Explore the Family Name Hesley

The meaning of Hesley

English: habitational name from Hesley Hall in Harworth (Nottinghamshire) or Hesley Hall in Ecclesfield (Yorkshire). The Nottinghamshire placename derives from Old English hæsel ‘hazel’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’, while the Yorkshire placename comes from Old Norse hestr ‘horse, stallion’ + Old English lēah.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Hesley in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Hesley has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 50,903 and by 2010, it dropped to 54,178; this represents a 6.43% decrease. The count also decreased from 385 to 381, indicating a 1.04% drop. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals with the Hesley surname per 100,000 people also fell by 7.14%, moving from 0.14 to 0.13.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#50,903	#54,178	-6.43%
Count	385	381	-1.04%
Proportion per 100k	0.14	0.13	-7.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hesley

On the topic of ethnic identity, the census data shows minor changes over time. The percentage of people with the Hesley surname identifying as White has slightly declined from 82.86% in 2000 to 82.41% in 2010. The Hispanic population increased from 2.34% to 4.20% during the same period, marking a substantial growth of 79.49%. However, the Black community saw a reduction from 11.43% to 9.71%. Interestingly, the representation of Asian/Pacific Islander disappeared completely by 2010, while those identifying with two or more races emerged at 1.57%. There were no recorded instances of American Indian and Alaskan Native identities within the Hesley surname group in either year. This data is all according to the Decennial U.S. Census.

	2000	2010	Change
White	82.86%	82.41%	-0.54%
Black	11.43%	9.71%	-15.05%
Hispanic	2.34%	4.2%	79.49%
Two or More Races	0%	1.57%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.82%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%