Explore the Family Name Murley

The meaning of Murley

1. Irish (Cork and Kerry): variant of Morley. 2. English (Cornwall and Somerset): habitational name from Murley in Uplowman (Devon). The placename derives from Old English mōr ‘moor’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. There may well have been some confusion with Morley.

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

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

According to data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Murley was ranked 16,271 in popularity in the year 2000 and dropped slightly to 16,734 by 2010, representing a decrease of 2.85%. However, the count of individuals with the Murley surname increased from 1,632 to 1,709 during this same period, an increase of 4.72%. The proportion of the Murley surname per 100,000 people also experienced a minor reduction from 0.6 to 0.58.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#16,271	#16,734	-2.85%
Count	1,632	1,709	4.72%
Proportion per 100k	0.6	0.58	-3.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Murley

The Decennial U.S. Census data also provides insights into the ethnic identity associated with the Murley surname. In the year 2000, the majority (95.22%) of those with the Murley surname identified as White, followed by Hispanic (2.21%), Black (1.04%), and those identifying with two or more races (0.92%). By 2010, while the white population remained the majority at 92.04%, there were notable increases in other ethnic identities. The percentage of those identifying as Black rose to 1.87% (a 79.81% increase), Hispanic to 3.45% (a 56.11% increase), and those reporting two or more races to 1.46% (a 58.7% increase). Additionally, new categories emerged in 2010, with 0.41% identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and 0.76% as American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.22%	92.04%	-3.34%
Hispanic	2.21%	3.45%	56.11%
Black	1.04%	1.87%	79.81%
Two or More Races	0.92%	1.46%	58.7%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.76%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.41%	0%