The Gormley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,949 people carried this name — #6,814 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 59,500 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (4,960).

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Gormley surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gormghail (“descendant of Gormghal”), a personal name based on gorm (“blue”) + gal (“valor”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gormley» (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 44 births for the Gormley name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 13 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

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

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 25
Connacht 13
Leinster 5
Munster 1

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Gormley was recorded 18 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1248th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 38. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Gormley in American newspapers,
1907–1927.

Newspaper page from The Frontier carrying the name Gormley
The Frontier 1921-03-17
Newspaper page from The Buffalo Bulletin carrying the name Gormley
The Buffalo Bulletin 1907-01-17
Newspaper page from The Montgomery Advertiser carrying the name Gormley
The Montgomery Advertiser 1927-12-23

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 24,533 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gormley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

5,792 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gormley. The most, 957, date from the 1930s. 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 Queensland, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,781
Queensland 1,780
Victoria 551
Tasmania 290
South Australia 258
ACT (Canberra) 58
Western Australia 45
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Gormley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Cora Rowena Cotterill
    Cora Rowena Cotterill 1864–1936 · temperance worker
  • Joseph T. Gormley Jr.
    Joseph T. Gormley Jr. 1932–2024 · lawyer
  • Hettie Fanny Gormley 1874–
  • Tom Gormley 1891–1951 · American football player
  • Francis Gormley 1899–1974 · politician
  • Joe Gormley 1917–1993 · politician

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 Gormley,
in the records of 7 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 States1,662 records

1,662 records of the Gormley name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 555
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 346
  • Other U.S. records 761
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Gormley

    Born 1947; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, indirect fire infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Edward F. Gormley

    Born 1909 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at New York City; clerks in trade from Westchester County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Lizzie Gormley

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Furnessia from Glasgow and Londonderry, aged 25; servant. From Tyrone, Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

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

Showing 3 of 1,662 records for Gormley in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). 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).

Australia199 records

199 records of the Gormley name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 71
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 54
  • Other Australian records 74
  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 Patrick Gormley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Asia, arriving 1831; ticket of leave 1836. Native of Roscommon.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Gormley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Mangerton, aged 4; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record John T. Gormley

    Gentleman of Preston, Victoria; died 1953.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 199 records for Gormley in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada136 records

136 records of the Gormley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 125
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 7
  • Other Canadian records 4
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Kenneth Harry Gormley

    Buried in 1999 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Elwood Gormley

    Died 1958 in Chester, Lunenburg, 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 Kenneth Alexander Gormley

    Died in service in 1945.

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

Showing 3 of 136 records for Gormley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. 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).

Ireland15 records

15 records of the Gormley name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Gormley

    Died 2000, aged 79; buried at Cortoon, 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 Maria Gormley

    Died 1937, aged 88; buried at Dunmore, 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 Thomas J. Gormley

    Died 1985, aged 68; buried at Derrybrien, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 15 records for Gormley 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 Gormley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Gormley

    Buried in 1925 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 67.

    Stirling Council. 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 G. Gormley

    Cheshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Gormley

    Royal Scots Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

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

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. 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).

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Gormley name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hilary Bernard Gormley

    Died 1958, aged 74; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Gormley in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

France1 record

1 record of the Gormley name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Brian Gormley

    Born 1929 in South Sheilds (Angleterre); died 2001 in Montpellier (Hérault).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gormley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gormley 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.

See the Gormley volume
Scroll to Top