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.
Discover how your Woolley ancestors earned their living and spread across the country. Find out more about your family history by using the Free Search box.| Bedfordshire | 3 |
| Buckinghamshire | 9 |
| Berkshire | 26 |
| Cambridgeshire | 21 |
| Channel Islands | 3 |
| Cheshire | 523 |
| Cornwall | 8 |
| Cumberland | 0 |
| Derbyshire | 636 |
| Devon | 78 |
| Dorset | 16 |
| Durham | 67 |
| Essex | 167 |
| Gloucestershire | 172 |
| Hampshire | 81 |
| Herefordshire | 29 |
| Hertfordshire | 54 |
| Huntingdonshire (and Rutland) | 40 |
| Isle of Man | 0 |
| Kent | 456 |
| Lancashire | 1,412 |
| Leicestershire | 271 |
| Lincolnshire | 209 |
| London | 850 |
| Middlesex | 138 |
| Northumberland | 14 |
| Norfolk | 8 |
| Northamptonshire | 118 |
| Nottinghamshire | 817 |
| Oxfordshire | 3 |
| Rutland (and Huntingdonshire) | 40 |
| Shropshire | 207 |
| Suffolk | 11 |
| Somerset | 172 |
| Surrey | 103 |
| Sussex | 109 |
| Staffordshire | 1,559 |
| Warwickshire | 568 |
| Westmorland | 8 |
| Wiltshire | 31 |
| Worcestershire | 176 |
| Yorkshire | 522 |
| Anglesey | 0 |
| Brecknockshire | 14 |
| Cardiganshire | 1 |
| Carnarvonshire | 3 |
| Carmarthenshire | 7 |
| Denbighshire | 24 |
| Flintshire | 9 |
| Glamorgan | 91 |
| Merionethshire | 5 |
| Montgomeryshire | 52 |
| Monmouthshire | 102 |
| Pembrokeshire | 1 |
| Radnorshire | 1 |
| Profession | Census Frequency |
|---|---|
| School | 991 |
| Coal Miner Hewer | 84 |
| Private Means | 66 |
| Farmer | 63 |
| General Labourer | 59 |
| Farm Labourer | 58 |
| Labourer | 49 |
| General Servant (domestic) | 45 |
| At School | 35 |
| Dressmaker | 32 |
| Scholar | 31 |
| Assisting In The Business | 30 |
| Clerk | 30 |
| None | 30 |
| At Home | 30 |
| Housekeeper | 28 |
| House Painter | 26 |
| Domestic Servant | 23 |
| Bricklayer | 22 |
| Dress Maker | 22 |
| Butcher | 21 |
| General Servant Domestic | 21 |
| House Keeper | 21 |
| Joiner | 21 |
| School Girl | 19 |
| Name | Census Frequency |
|---|---|
| William Woolley | 2,835 |
| John Woolley | 2,744 |
| Mary Woolley | 2,653 |
| Thomas Woolley | 1,765 |
| Elizabeth Woolley | 1,741 |
| George Woolley | 1,635 |
| Sarah Woolley | 1,608 |
| James Woolley | 1,275 |
| Ann Woolley | 1,039 |
| Joseph Woolley | 1,035 |
| Charles Woolley | 840 |
| Henry Woolley | 734 |
| Eliza Woolley | 733 |
| Jane Woolley | 726 |
| Emma Woolley | 679 |
| Annie Woolley | 666 |
| Samuel Woolley | 612 |
| Hannah Woolley | 574 |
| Alice Woolley | 562 |
| Ellen Woolley | 562 |
| Edward Woolley | 544 |
| Arthur Woolley | 516 |
| Robert Woolley | 505 |
| Frederick Woolley | 460 |
| Emily Woolley | 416 |
| 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 |
The surname Woolley is the most popular version of all its varients