Show ContentsEarley Surname History

During the 17th and 18th centuries, many Irish Gaelic names were forcibly translated in English. The Irish O'Maolmocheirghe, often anglicized as O'Mulmohery and Mulmoher, began to be substituted with Early and Earley, a loose translation of the elements "moch" meaning early and "eirghe" meaning rising.

Early Origins of the Earley family

The surname Earley was first found in the 12th and 13th centuries, when a bishop of Breffny near Kilmore in Galway and an abbot of Kells in County Meath were both called O'Mulmoghery. In Counties Kilkenny and Tipperary the name Erley is of Norman descent, and is sometimes found as d'Erley. Robert Erley was the Prior of Kells in County Kilkenny in 1361, and Erleystown was on record in Tipperary as early as 1305.

Early History of the Earley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Earley research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1659, 1814 and 1874 are included under the topic Early Earley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Earley Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Early, Earley, O'Mulmohery, Mulmoher and many more.

Early Notables of the Earley family

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

Earley Ranking

In the United States, the name Earley is the 3,283rd most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 1


United States Earley migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Earley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Jacob Earley, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1761 2
Earley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Patrick Earley, aged 20, who arrived in New York in 1854 2
  • Rose Earley, aged 40, who landed in New York in 1854 2
  • Francis Earley, aged 18, who arrived in New York in 1854 2
  • Michael Earley, who settled in Philadelphia in 1868
  • Earley, aged 28, who settled in America, in 1892
Earley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Annie Earley, aged 30, who immigrated to America, in 1901
  • Annie Earley, aged 20, who landed in America from Ballyjamesduff, Ireland, in 1908
  • Charlotte Earley, aged 24, who landed in America from Dublin, Ireland, in 1908
  • Edward Earley, aged 34, who settled in America from Cardendin, Scotland, in 1913
  • Annie Earley, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States from Dublin, Ireland, in 1913
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Earley (post 1700) +

  • William Albert "Bill" Earley (b. 1956), American retired Major League Baseball pitcher
  • Lori Earley, American pop surrealist artist
  • Jay Earley, American computer scientist and psychologist who invented the Earley parser
  • Kevin Earley, American stage, film, and television actor
  • Candice Jean Earley (b. 1950), American actress
  • Pete Earley, American journalist and writer of non-fiction books and novels
  • John Joseph Earley (1881-1945), American fourth generation stone carver and ecclesiastical artist, best known for the invention of the Earley Process
  • Thomas Francis Aloysius Earley (1917-1988), American Major League Baseball pitcher
  • Tony Earley (b. 1961), American novelist and short story writer from San Antonio, Texas
  • Arnold Carl Earley (1933-1999), American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher
  • ... (Another 17 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)


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