Explore the Family Name Pooley
The meaning of Pooley
1. English: from Middle English pol(e) ‘pool, pond’ + hei(i) ‘enclosure’ (Old English pōl + (ge)hæg), or perhaps from pol(e) + ei ‘island, habitable land among marshes’ (Old English ēg). The name may be topographic, for someone who lived near an enclosure by a pool or low-lying land, or habitational, from a place so named, such as Pooley (now Hunt’s Hall) in Pebmarsh (Essex) or Polly Shaw in Eynsford (Kent). 2. English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Poilley (Manche). 3. English: variant of Pulley, an ethnic name from Middle English Poille, Poyle, Apuelle, which are representations of Apulia (Italy) and denote someone from there; Pulleis denotes ‘man of Apulia’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Pooley in the United States?
According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Pooley saw a dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. Ranked 16,480th in 2000, it fell to 18,676th place by 2010—a decrease of 13.33%. The total count of people with this surname also fell by 8.34% from 1,606 individuals in 2000 to 1,472 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion of persons named Pooley per 100,000 population decreased by 16.67%, going from 0.6 in 2000 to 0.5 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #16,480 | #18,676 | -13.33% |
| Count | 1,606 | 1,472 | -8.34% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.6 | 0.5 | -16.67% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Pooley
In terms of ethnicity, the Pooley surname is predominantly associated with persons of White ethnicity as shown in data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, 92.96% of people with the Pooley surname identified as White, though this number decreased slightly to 90.69% by 2010. However, there were notable shifts among other ethnicities. The proportion of those identifying as Hispanic more than doubled from 1.68% in 2000 to 3.53% in 2010. There was also a significant increase in those identifying with two or more ethnicities, which rose from 1.56% to 2.58%. Those identifying as Black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian and Alaskan Native saw decreases or minor increases respectively over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92.96% | 90.69% | -2.44% |
| Hispanic | 1.68% | 3.53% | 110.12% |
| Two or More Races | 1.56% | 2.58% | 65.38% |
| Black | 1.99% | 1.36% | -31.66% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.12% | 1.22% | 8.93% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.68% | 0.61% | -10.29% |