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Kerley History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Kerley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The Kerley surname is an Anglicization, derived from the Irish Gaelic "Mac Toirdhealbhaigh."

Early Origins of the Kerley family

The surname Kerley was first found in the Connacht counties of Galway and Roscommon (Irish: Ros Comáin) located in central Ireland in the province of Connacht, where the places names Ballymacurley and Curley's Island can be found. There is also legend in Ireland, that the name descends from Maolduin, the second son of the 164th Monarch of Ireland, who founded the clanns of Muldoon. Maolduin's great, great grandson was Clercen, whose name means "curly one." Clercen founded the Clan O'Cleircen, which anglicized is Curley or Curling.

Early History of the Kerley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kerley research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1305 is included under the topic Early Kerley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Corley, MacCorley, Curley, Curlee, Curling, Kirley, McKerley, McCurley, McCurly and many more.

Early Notables of the Kerley family

More information is included under the topic Early Kerley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kerley Ranking

In the United States, the name Kerley is the 6,642^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1

Kerley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kerley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edmund Kerley, aged 22, from Hampshire, who arrived aboard the ship "Confidence" in 1638 in New England and Boston stated, found in Sudbury. 2
William Kerley, who arrived aboard the ship "Confidence" in 1638 in New England and Boston stated, found in Newbury. 2
Henry Kerley, who arrived in Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1653 2

Kerley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Kerley, who landed in New York in 1836 2
Owen Kerley, who landed in New York in 1838 2

Kerley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Kerley Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Kerley Richard U.E. who settled in Carleton [Saint John West], New Brunswick, Canada c. 1784 3

Kerley migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Kerley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Jane Kerley, (b. 1835), aged 23, English domestic servant from England travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Zealandia" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st September 1858 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Kerley (post 1700) +

Jack Kerley, American author
David Kerley (b. 1957), correspondent for ABC News, based in Washington, D.C
A. James Kerley, American academic, selected to be the President of Gulf Coast Community College in 2007
Edward T. Kerley, American politician, Mayor of Flagstaff, Arizona, 1955-56 5
Sir Peter Kerley CVO (1900-1978), Irish radiologist, eponym of "Kerley B lines" which are a finding of congestive heart failure
Donald Neil Kerley AM (1934-2022), Australian rules footballer and coach, best known for taking three clubs to four South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premierships and for playing 32 state games for South Australia
Neil Kerley (b. 1934), former Australian rules football player and coach
James Kerley, Australian TV and radio presenter
Henry Charles "Harry" Kerley, Australian rules footballer
Ellis R. Kerley (1924-1998), Canadian anthropologist, pioneer in the field of forensic anthropology

Historic Events for the Kerley family +

RMS Titanic

Mr. William Thomas Kerley (d. 1912), aged 28, English Assistant Saloon Steward from Salisbury, Wiltshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking and was recovered by ASS Ottawa and was buried at sea 6

Citations +

"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 6) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html