Explore the Family Name Parmley

The meaning of Parmley

English (mainly Cumberland and Durham): presumably a habitational name, perhaps from a post-medieval form of Parmentley in Whitfield (Northumberland), which is recorded as Parmaly in 1698. The placename appears to derive from Middle English permain ‘pear’ (Old French parmain, permain) + leie ‘clearing, meadow’ (Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’).

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Parmley has seen a slight decrease from 2000 to 2010. Ranking in at 13,830 in 2000 and then slipping to 14,374 in 2010, the name's popularity fell by approximately 3.93%. Despite this, the actual count of individuals bearing the surname rose from 2,005 to 2,080, which is a growth rate of 3.74%. However, when considering the proportion per 100k, there was a 4.05% decrease.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#13,830	#14,374	-3.93%
Count	2,005	2,080	3.74%
Proportion per 100k	0.74	0.71	-4.05%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Parmley

When examining the ethnicity associated with the surname Parmley based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, there are noticeable changes from 2000 to 2010. The largest ethnic identity affiliated with Parmley remains White, even though there was a minor dip of 0.99%, going from 88.48% in 2000 to 87.60% in 2010. There were increases among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (0.60% to 0.87%), those of two or more races (1.15% to 1.59%), Hispanic ethnicity (1.80% to 2.31%), and American Indian and Alaskan Native (0.50% to 0.67%). Conversely, those identifying as Black saw a decline from 7.48% to 6.97%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	88.48%	87.6%	-0.99%
Black	7.48%	6.97%	-6.82%
Hispanic	1.8%	2.31%	28.33%
Two or More Races	1.15%	1.59%	38.26%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.6%	0.87%	45%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.5%	0.67%	34%