Explore the Family Name Killey
The meaning of Killey
1. Irish and Manx: perhaps a variant of Irish Kiely or Kelly 1; or McGill or an abbreviation of a surname originally beginning Mac Giolla. Alternatively, the name may be habitational or topographic. 2. English: variant of Kelly 3.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Killey in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Killey has seen a decline in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 56,687, but by 2010, it had fallen to 65,244—a decrease of 15.1 percent. The number of people bearing this surname also dropped from 337 in 2000 to 304 in 2010, equating to a decrease of nearly 10 percent. The proportion of individuals named Killey per 100,000 people also fell by around 17 percent.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #56,687 | #65,244 | -15.1% |
| Count | 337 | 304 | -9.79% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.12 | 0.1 | -16.67% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Killey
When considering ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the majority of those with the surname Killey identify as White. In 2000, approximately 95.25 percent identified as such, and this figure rose slightly to 96.71 percent in 2010. A small percentage of people with this surname identified as having two or more ethnic identities or as Black in 2000, but these numbers were suppressed in the 2010 data for privacy reasons. There was no recorded change in the percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.25% | 96.71% | 1.53% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Two or More Races | 1.48% | 0% | 0% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Black | 1.48% | 0% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0% | 0% |