Contents [hide]

Culley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Culley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The vast movement of people that followed the Norman Conquest of England of 1066 brought the Culley family name to the British Isles. They lived in Derbyshire, in the area of Cully.

Early Origins of the Culley family

The surname Culley was first found in Norfolk where Hunfrid de Cuelai was listed there in the Domesday Book. 1 However, we must look to the aforementioned reference of Derbyshire to find the earliest land grants for the surname. And Ratcliffe Culey, a hamlet near the border of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, part of the civil parish of Witherley can be ruled out as the origin of the name as the hamlet's first reference was in the 1600's.

Early History of the Culley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Culley research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1250, 1559, 1606 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Culley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Culley Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Culley, Cully, Culy, Culey and others.

Early Notables of the Culley family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Culley was sheriff of Norwich in 1559, and Joshua Culley was a mayor of Norwich in 1606...

Culley Ranking

In the United States, the name Culley is the 9,047^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Migration of the Culley family to Ireland

Some of the Culley family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Culley migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Culley or a variant listed above were:

Culley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Samuel Culley, who landed in Virginia in 1620 aboard the ship "London Merchant" 3

Culley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Timothy Culley, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1773 3

Culley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Mr. James Culley, (b. 1864), aged 22, Cornish miner departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving in Boston, USA on 5 April 1886 4
Mr. William Culley, (b. 1859), aged 28, Cornish stonecutter departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving in the United States on 1 August 1887 4
Mrs. L. Culley, (b. 1859), aged 28, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving in the United States on 1 August 1887 4
Miss Alice Culley, (b. 1886), aged 1, Cornish settler departing from Liverpool aboard the ship "Umbria" arriving in the United States on 1 August 1887 4

Culley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. William Culley, (b. 1886), aged 19, Cornish stonemason travelling aboard the ship "Caronia" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1905 en route to Thomaston, Connecticut, USA 5

Culley migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Culley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Edward Culley, (Cully), (b. 1796), aged 25, English farm labourer who was convicted in Berkshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Claudine" on 20th May 1821, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Francis Culley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Gratitude" in 1848 7
Thomas Culley, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Gratitude" in 1848 7
David Culley, aged 39, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Macedon" in 1849 8
Elizabeth Culley, aged 43, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Macedon" in 1849 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Culley (post 1700) +

William Culley, American politician, Postmaster at Kingston, New York, 1841-45 9
Robert S. Culley, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Bladensburg, Maryland, 1901-04 9
Frank C. Culley, American politician, Mayor of Kenosha, Wisconsin, 1897-98 9
Arthur E. Culley, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Miami, Florida, 1919-22 9
Travis Hugh Culley, American philosopher and writer
Wendell Philips Culley (1906-1983), American jazz trumpeter
George Culley (1735-1813), English agriculturist, younger son of Matthew Culley 10
Derek Culley (b. 1952), Irish artist
Charles Ernest Culley (1877-1949), Australian politician, member of the Australian House of Representatives

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/claudine
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) GRATITUDE 1848. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1848Gratitude.gif
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The MACEDON 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Macedon.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020