Explore the Family Name Wooley
The meaning of Wooley
English: variant of Woolley.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Wooley in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Wooley has seen a slight decrease in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Wooley was ranked as the 5196th most popular surname in the United States, with a count of 6176 individuals bearing this name. By 2010, its rank had dropped to 5679, even though the count only decreased marginally to 6109 individuals. The proportion of people with the Wooley surname per 100,000 population also experienced a decline from 2.29 in 2000 to 2.07 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,196 | #5,679 | -9.3% |
| Count | 6,176 | 6,109 | -1.08% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.29 | 2.07 | -9.61% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Wooley
The ethnicity distribution of the Wooley surname also shows some changes from 2000 to 2010 based on the Decennial U.S. Census. A majority of individuals with the Wooley surname identified as White, although the percentage decreased slightly from 83.58% in 2000 to 80.34% in 2010. The largest increases were seen in the categories of "Two or more races" and "Hispanic" which increased by 61.11% and 61.73% respectively. The proportion of those identifying as Black also increased, but at a slower rate, from 12.19% in 2000 to 13.26% in 2010. There was also an increase in those who identified as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 83.58% | 80.34% | -3.88% |
| Black | 12.19% | 13.26% | 8.78% |
| Hispanic | 1.62% | 2.62% | 61.73% |
| Two or More Races | 1.44% | 2.32% | 61.11% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.63% | 0.83% | 31.75% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.53% | 0.62% | 16.98% |
Wooley 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 Wooley is British & Irish, which comprises 55.2% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (18.8%) and Italian (4.1%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Nigerian, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Ashkenazi Jewish.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 55.2% |
| French & German | 18.8% |
| Italian | 4.1% |
| Other | 21.8% |
Possible origins of the surname Wooley
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 Wooley have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 87.90% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 87.20% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 87.20% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 87.20% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 87.20% |
What Wooley 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 Wooley is R-Z278, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-Z278 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include I-L233 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Woolley, Colon, Ayers, Mathieu, Peacock, Elkins, Stokes, Ayres, Cardinal, Carrera.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Wooley surname are: H1, H, L3. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Wooley 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
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Wooley" Surname 41.9%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Cheek Dimples
Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.
"Wooley" Surname 38.7%
23andMe Users 37.6%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Wooley" Surname 32.0%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Wooley" Surname 15.2%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Wooley?
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 Wooley are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition