Kerley
An English and Irish surname with multiple possible origins, including a place-name source and an Irish Gaelic surname form.
The #6,375 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,796 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Kerley is not straightforward: historical sources suggest more than one origin. In England it was likely sometimes taken from a place-name, with Bardsley linking related forms to Fazakerley near Liverpool. In Ireland, Matheson and Woulfe show Kerley as an Anglicized surname found especially in Connacht and the west, probably representing an Irish Gaelic name rather than one single English source.
History
In English records, Kerley appears among a cluster of surnames formed from local place-names and their spellings. In Irish material, it is associated with western counties, especially Kerry and Clare in Matheson’s notes, and Woulfe treats it as one of several Anglicized forms grouped under an Irish Gaelic original. The name therefore seems to have developed separately in more than one setting, which is why its history is mixed rather than simple.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because the name shows up in both English place-name clusters and Irish surname lists, two people named Kerley may not share the same family origin at all.
From the historical record
“999 KERLEY. 175. 271. &c. Kirivan. 1057 Lajiont. Kirley.”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland