Explore the Family Name Oley

The meaning of Oley

1. German (rarely Öley): metonymic occupational name for an oil miller (i.e. someone who extracted oil from poppy seeds, nuts etc.) or oil merchant, from Middle High German öl(e), olei, Middle Low German olie ‘oil’. Compare Ohler. 2. English (Durham): habitational name of Norman origin, from any of the five places called Ouilly in Calvados, France.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Oley has seen a decrease from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked at 37,788 and dropped to 42,094 in 2010, reflecting an 11.4% decline. The total count of people with the surname also decreased by 6.69% during this period, from 553 to 516. As a proportion per 100,000 individuals, the prevalence of the surname decreased by 15%, shifting from 0.2 to 0.17.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#37,788	#42,094	-11.4%
Count	553	516	-6.69%
Proportion per 100k	0.2	0.17	-15%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Oley

The ethnicity associated with the surname Oley, as reported by the Decennial U.S. Census data, has seen notable changes between 2000 and 2010. The majority identify as White, with an increase from 94.03% to 94.77%. Hispanic identification rose by almost a third, from 1.63% to 2.13%. However, the percentage identifying as Black saw a significant drop of 42.13%, going from 2.35% to 1.36%. Those identifying with two or more races also declined by 20%, reducing the figure from 1.45% to 1.16%. No individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	94.03%	94.77%	0.79%
Hispanic	1.63%	2.13%	30.67%
Black	2.35%	1.36%	-42.13%
Two or More Races	1.45%	1.16%	-20%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%