Woolley Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Woolley Name Meaning: Thought to have originated from the Anglo-Saxon given name 'wulf', meaning wolf and the Anglo-Saxon word 'leah' meaning clearing or wood.

A surname which was probably given to someone from a place of the same name which would have been named after the area having being built in a clearing or in a wood. The Middle English word 'woll' or similar also refers to a spring which is also what some settlements were named after.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Woolley Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Woolley family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 463
Agricultural Labourer 104
House Servant 69
At Home 49
Labourer 46
Farm Labourer 28
Servant 28
Shoe Maker 24
House Keeper 22
Dress Maker 21
Tailor 20
Coal Miner 20
Laundress 18
Farmers Son 17
Frame Work Knitter 17
General Servant 15
Carpenter 15
Cotton Weaver 15
Farmer 13
Lace Worker 13
Farm Servant 12
Cotton Spinner 11
Errand Boy 11
Gardener 10
Blacksmith 9

Woolley Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Woolley 100% 44,497
2 Willey 71% 21,119
3 Wooley 86% 13,380
4 Walley 71% 12,408
5 Wolley 86% 3,359
6 Willy 57% 3,278
7 Woolly 86% 908
8 Wally 57% 729
9 Welley 71% 664
10 Welly 57% 312
11 Wooly 71% 252
12 Wallay 57% 218
13 Woley 71% 111

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The surname Woolley is the most popular version of all its varients

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