Explore the Family Name Qualey

The meaning of Qualey

1. Irish: variant of Quealy. 2. Americanized form of Norwegian Kvaløy: habitational name from any of some ten farmsteads so named, from kval ‘whale’ + øy ‘island’ (Old Norse Hvaley).

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Qualey has seen a decrease in popularity over the years. In 2000, it was ranked 33,993rd in popularity with a total count of 632 individuals bearing the name. By 2010, the ranking had fallen to 36,838th and the count dropped slightly to 606 individuals, representing a negative change of -8.37% in ranking and -4.11% in count. The proportion of people with the Qualey surname per 100,000 also experienced a decrease from 0.23 in 2000 to 0.21 in 2010, showing a change of -8.7%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#33,993	#36,838	-8.37%
Count	632	606	-4.11%
Proportion per 100k	0.23	0.21	-8.7%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Qualey

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data indicates that the majority of individuals with the Qualey surname identify as White. In 2000, approximately 98.42% of Qualeys were White which decreased slightly to 97.52% by 2010, signifying a change of -0.91%. The data does not show any individuals identifying as Black, Hispanic, or American Indian and Alaskan Native for either year. However, in 2000, there was a small percentage (0.79%) who identified with two or more ethnicities, but this number was no longer present in 2010. Interestingly, the 2010 data showed a new category with 0.83% identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, a category that wasn't represented in the 2000 data.

	2000	2010	Change
White	98.42%	97.52%	-0.91%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.83%	0%
Two or More Races	0.79%	0%	0%
Hispanic	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%