Show ContentsPauley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Pauley was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Pauley family lived in Pavilly, in Seine Maritime, Normandy.

"A monastery was founded here by Amalbert, Lord of Pavilly 664, which was restored by Thomas de Pavilly, c. 1090 (Neustria Pia, 328). Reginald de Pavilly died in the first Crusade at Acre (Des Bois). Ralph de Pavilly witnessed a charter of William Earl of Surrey, temp. Henry I." [1]

"The Pavelys," says Banks, were a very numerous family, and greatly divided, which renders a connected account most difficult to give with any accuracy to be depended upon." Contemporary with the above-named Ralph, according to Sir Richard Hoare, was Reginald de Paveley, Lord of Westbury in Wiltshire, where his descendants." [2]

Early Origins of the Pauley family

The surname Pauley was first found in Dorset where they held a family seat at Charlton Marshall, when Reginald de Pavelli was granted the King's lands by King Henry II. Later King John granted Pillington of Norfolk to the Lords of Pavelli, Roger and Thomas. The son, however, Thomas Pavelli or Thomas Pawley still adhered to the King of France in 1204. [3]

"There was a flourishing branch seated at Bickenhall in the county of Somerset; and another in Hampshire ; but this latter, according to Woodward, was founded by Walter de Pavilly, Mayor of Rouen, who was one of those who were banished from Normandy on account of their adherence to King johns He settled at Winchester, whence the name came into the county. Reginald de Paveley in 1264 was one of the Hampshire barons summoned to serve against Llewellyn. Robert de Paviliaco held Rodington in Nottinghamshire in the time of Henry I., and founded a family that was seated there till the end of Edward III.'s reign." [2]

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two early entries for the family with the Pauly spelling: Geoffrey Pauly, Cambridgeshire; and William Pauly in Cambridgeshire. [4] [5]

Early History of the Pauley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pauley research. Another 132 words (9 lines of text) covering the year 1635 is included under the topic Early Pauley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pauley Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Pauley are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Pauley include Pawley, Pauley, Paulye, Paulley and others.

Early Notables of the Pauley family

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

Pauley Ranking

In the United States, the name Pauley is the 3,204th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. [6]


United States Pauley migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Pauley, or a variant listed above:

Pauley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • James Pauley, who landed in Maryland in 1676 [7]
Pauley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Thomas Pauley, who arrived in New England in 1712 [7]
Pauley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • J. Pauley, who arrived in Baltimore in 1829
  • John Pauley, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1849
  • Mrs. A. Pauley, who settled in San Francisco in 1872
Pauley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Anna Pauley, who settled in New York in 1900

Canada Pauley migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pauley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Charles Pauley, who settled in Harbour Breton in 1851

New Zealand Pauley 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:

Pauley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Annie Pauley, (b. 1855), aged 18, Cornish domestic servant departing on 13th May 1873 aboard the ship "Mary Shepherd" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 20th August 1873 [8]
  • Miss Emma Pauley, (b. 1854), aged 19, Cornish domestic servant departing on 13th May 1873 aboard the ship "Mary Shepherd" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 20th August 1873 [8]
  • Frank Pauley, aged 22, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Salisbury" in 1876
  • Caroline Pauley, aged 20, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Salisbury" in 1876
  • Kate Pauley, aged 26, a housemaid, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Salisbury" in 1876

Contemporary Notables of the name Pauley (post 1700) +

  • William H. Pauley III (1952-2021), American jurist, United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (2008-2021)
  • Robert Reinhold Pauley (1923-2009), American radio broadcasting executive
  • Mary Dominica Pauley (b. 1980), more commonly known as Mieka Pauley, is an American singer-songwriter
  • Edwin Wendell Pauley Sr. (1903-1981), American businessman and political leader
  • Margaret Jane Pauley (b. 1950), American television journalist
  • David Wayne Pauley (b. 1983), American Major League Baseball relief pitcher
  • Glen A. Pauley, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Mingo County, 1958 [9]
  • Edwin Wendell Pauley Sr. (1903-1981), American Democratic Party politician, Treasurer of Democratic National Committee, 1944; Member of Democratic National Committee from California, 1947 [9]
  • E. Franklin Pauley, American Republican politician, Candidate for judge of West Virginia supreme court of appeals, 1960 [9]
  • David Pauley, American Republican politician, Chair of Boone County Republican Party, 1973-75 [9]
  • ... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


Suggested Readings for the name Pauley +

  • Ancestors and Kin by Robert Walden Coggeshall.

  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  5. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. 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)
  8. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Lyttelton 1858-84 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
  9. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook