The Foley surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 51,865 people carried this name — #661 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 5,690 people counted. That is up 2% from 50,852 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Foley surname
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Foghladha (“descendant of Foghlaidh”), a byname from foghlaí (“plunderer, pillager, marauder, robber”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Foley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 250 births for the Foley name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 11,100 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: “Kerry, Cork, Waterford, and Dublin.”
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
67 people named Foley live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 64 people named Foley live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 56 people named Foley.
28 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 4 départements, most often Nord.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In the Nordic population registers
70 people named Foley are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Foley in American newspapers,
1907–1921.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 693,467 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Foley,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Paul Foley 1644–1699 · politician -
Thomas Foley 1757–1833 · naval officer -
Margaret Foley 1827–1877 · artist -
Allan James Foley 1835–1899 · opera singer -
Henry Foley, 5th Baron Foley 1850–1905
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 258 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Foley.
When the index is not enough
This page says where Foley is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.