Railey
A surname that most likely developed as a spelling variant of Riley or Reilly, meaning a descendant of the Irish name Ó Raghallaigh.
The #9,940 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 95,116 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Railey is best understood as a spelling variant of the much more common surnames Riley and Reilly. Those names usually come from the Irish Gaelic Ó Raghallaigh, meaning "descendant of Raghallach," a personal name whose older sense is uncertain but is often explained as something like "valiant" or "fierce." In English-language records, the spelling was often reshaped by local pronunciation and clerical spelling habits, producing forms such as Railey.
History
The surname is relatively uncommon and is most likely one of several Anglicized spellings that emerged as Irish surnames were recorded in English-speaking countries. In the United States, Railey would have been reinforced by migration, imperfect standardization of spelling, and the tendency for one family line to settle on a distinctive written form. It is related to a wider cluster of names including Riley, Reilly, O’Reilly, and Reiley.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Railey is one of those surnames where a small spelling change can hide a very common Irish origin behind a much rarer written form.