The Cooley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 33,231 people carried this name — #1,054 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,870 people counted. That is up 3% from 32,287 in 2000.

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In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 9 births for the Cooley name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Galway.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 5
Connacht 3
Munster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

119 families named Cooley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 683 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 4 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Massachusetts 54
New York 21
Connecticut 11
Vermont 9
Maryland 8
North Carolina 6
Pennsylvania 3
New Hampshire 2
Virginia 2
South Carolina 2
Maine 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 235 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Cooley in American newspapers,
1892–1920.

Newspaper page from The Pensacola Journal carrying the name Cooley
The Pensacola Journal 1920-01-21
Newspaper page from The Pensacola Journal carrying the name Cooley
The Pensacola Journal 1920-01-22
Newspaper page from Pittsburg Dispatch carrying the name Cooley
Pittsburg Dispatch 1892-08-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Cooley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

9,339 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cooley. The most, 1,599, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 4.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 3,415
Tasmania 3,007
Queensland 1,325
Victoria 746
Western Australia 365
South Australia 333
ACT (Canberra) 112
Northern Territory 10

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Cooley.

Who carried it

People named Cooley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Cooley
    Thomas Cooley 1795–1872 · painter
  • Robert N. Cooley d. 1988 · physician
  • Phil Cooley d. 2023 · referee
  • Daniel Cooley 1651–1727
  • Thomas Cooley 1740–1784 · architect
  • Sarah Cooley 1770–1812

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Cooley,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States2,592 records

2,592 records of the Cooley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,137
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 471
  • Other U.S. records 984
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record David Leo Cooley

    Born 1934; from Warwick, Virginia. U.S. Navy, pilot; declared dead 1968 in North Vietnam. Buried at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City, Nevada.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Carl K. Cooley

    Born 1921 in Missouri. Enlisted 1942 at Jefferson Barracks; farmer from Phelps County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1943, buried at Springfield National Cemetery, Missouri.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Cooley

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Aurania from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 20; servant. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 2,592 records for Cooley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia609 records

609 records of the Cooley name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 347
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 168
  • Other Australian records 94
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Thomas Cooley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Chapman, sailing from England in 1824. Native of Hertfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836. Married 1836 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Todd Cooley

    Died 1886 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 81. Will registered in Tasmania in 1886.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Alice G. Cooley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1884 aboard the Austral, aged 9.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 609 records for Cooley in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada53 records

53 records of the Cooley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 29
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 7
  • Other Canadian records 17
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mildred R. Cooley

    Buried in 1991 at Mount Hermon Cemetery, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, aged 68.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Marion Matilda Cooley

    Died 1957 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record John Morgan Cooley

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 53 records for Cooley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ireland13 records

13 records of the Cooley name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Cooley

    Died 1865, aged 78; buried at Oranmore (Medieval), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Martin Cooley

    Died 1996, aged 82; buried at Derrybrien, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Cooley

    Died 1904, aged 72; buried at Oranmore (Medieval), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Cooley in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Cooley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 4
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Cooley

    Buried in 1817 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 83.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. T. Cooley

    Worcestershire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Cooley

    Buried in 1814 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 62.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 6 records for Cooley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Cooley.

When the index is not enough

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