The Greeley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,246 people carried this name — #7,796 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 69,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 4,178 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Greeley surname

Nickname for someone with a pock-marked face, from Old French greslé (“pitted, scarred”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Greeley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Greeley’.

An early record he cites: Robert Greyleg, Somerset, 1327–28 (1 Edward III) — Kirby's Quest (Somerset).

His entry covers Greely and Greeley.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 334 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

52 families named Greeley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 333 people lived in those households, 6.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 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

New Hampshire 24
Maine 15
Massachusetts 8
Rhode Island 2
Connecticut 2
Vermont 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. 242 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Greeley in American newspapers,
1872.

Newspaper page from Chicago Daily Tribune carrying the name Greeley
Chicago Daily Tribune 1872-11-06
Newspaper page from Chicago Daily Tribune carrying the name Greeley
Chicago Daily Tribune 1872-11-30
Newspaper page from The Daily Dispatch carrying the name Greeley
The Daily Dispatch 1872-11-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 358,274 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Greeley in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1950s.

2,335 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Greeley. The most, 869, date from the 1870s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 688
Victoria 624
Queensland 395
South Australia 358
Tasmania 175
Western Australia 83
ACT (Canberra) 3
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Greeley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Horace Greeley
    Horace Greeley 1811–1872 · writer
  • Elam Greeley
    Elam Greeley 1818–1882 · politician
  • Henry Clay Greeley
    Henry Clay Greeley 1830–1902 · politician
  • Edwin S. Greeley
    Edwin S. Greeley 1832–1920 · businessperson
  • Julia Greeley
    Julia Greeley 1833–1918 · nun
  • Jacob Greeley 1739–1820

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 Greeley,
in the records of 4 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 States624 records

624 records of the Greeley name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 211
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 170
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 97
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 56
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 44
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 37
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Timothy Martin Greeley

    Born 1949; from New York, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1970 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Cypress Hills 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 Lawrence W. Greeley

    Born 1908 in New York. Enlisted 1941 at Jamaica; office clerk from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1954, 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 Maggie Greeley

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 17; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

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

Showing 3 of 624 records for Greeley in the United States.

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

Canada20 records

20 records of the Greeley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 11
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Catherine Greeley

    Died 1960; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Isabel Greeley

    Died 1930 in Brooklyn, Queens, 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 Desmond Greeley

    Died in service in 1944.

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

Showing 3 of 20 records for Greeley 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. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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).

Australia7 records

7 records of the Greeley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Greeley

    Sailed from Victoria in 1859 aboard the Golconda, bound for Boston USA.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Marcus David Greeley

    Appointed a justice of the peace in Queensland in 1916.

    Queensland State Archives (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 J. Greeley

    Sailed from Victoria in 1852 aboard the Freak, bound for Sydney, aged 20.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Greeley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Greeley name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. D. Greeley

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

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

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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 Greeley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Greeley 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 Greeley volume
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