Explore the Family Name Oxley

The meaning of Oxley

1. English (Yorkshire): habitational name from Ox Lee in Hepworth (Yorkshire), or from other places called Oxley, such as that in Staffordshire. The placenames derive from Old English oxa ‘ox’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. 2. Possibly also an Americanized form of South German Öchsle (see Oechsle). Compare Axley.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Oxley has seen a minor decline between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Oxley ranked as the 7186th most common surname in the U.S., but slipped to 7694th place by 2010, reflecting a 7.07% decrease in ranking. Despite this, the actual count of people bearing the Oxley surname slightly increased from 4282 in 2000 to 4315 in 2010, a growth of 0.77%. However, its proportion per 100k people decreased from 1.59 to 1.46, marking an 8.18% drop.

20002010Change
Rank#7,186#7,694-7.07%
Count4,2824,3150.77%
Proportion per 100k1.591.46-8.18%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Oxley

The ethnic identity associated with the Oxley surname also revealed some shifts from 2000 to 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. While the majority of individuals with this name were identified as White (90.14% in 2000 and 87.25% in 2010), there was a small decrease in this category over the decade. The highest growth was observed among those identifying as Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander, up by 112.40% and 109.52% respectively. There was also a 26.14% increase in Black individuals carrying the Oxley surname. The number of those claiming two or more races decreased by 25.60%, while American Indian and Alaskan Native representation saw a modest rise of 20.63%.

20002010Change
White90.14%87.25%-3.21%
Black6.12%7.72%26.14%
Hispanic1.21%2.57%112.4%
Two or More Races1.68%1.25%-25.6%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.63%0.76%20.63%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.21%0.44%109.52%

Oxley ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Oxley is British & Irish, which comprises 60.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (21.3%) and Scandinavian (4.9%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Indigenous American, and Nigerian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish60.4%
French & German21.3%
Scandinavian4.9%
Other13.4%
Oxley

Possible origins of the surname Oxley

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Oxley have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom93.90%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom93.90%
West Midlands, United Kingdom93.90%
Merseyside, United Kingdom93.90%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom93.20%

What Oxley haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Oxley is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS241 and R-M405, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Bolt, Main, Quarles, Baer, Clouse, Howes, Plummer, Piercy, Sexton, Qualls.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Oxley surname are: H1, H, K1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

oxleyPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Oxley have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Oxley

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Oxley" Surname 44.8%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Oxley

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Oxley" Surname 26.8%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Oxley

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Oxley" Surname 29.2%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Oxley

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Oxley" Surname 15.8%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Oxley?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Oxley are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%