The Gurley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,669 people carried this name — #4,098 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 34,000 people counted. That is up 8% from 8,042 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

37 families named Gurley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 246 people lived in those households, 6.7 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

North Carolina 15
Connecticut 10
Pennsylvania 7
South Carolina 5

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. 243 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Gurley in American newspapers,
1888–1914.

Newspaper page from The Manning Times carrying the name Gurley
The Manning Times 1888-06-27
Newspaper page from The Manning Times carrying the name Gurley
The Manning Times 1888-08-01
Newspaper page from Southern Christian Advocate carrying the name Gurley
Southern Christian Advocate 1914-02-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 51,273 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gurley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

656 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gurley. The most, 227, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 443
Queensland 79
Victoria 58
South Australia 30
Western Australia 24
Tasmania 13
ACT (Canberra) 2

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

Who carried it

People named Gurley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John A. Gurley
    John A. Gurley 1813–1863 · politician
  • Phineas Densmore Gurley
    Phineas Densmore Gurley 1816–1868
  • William Gurley
    William Gurley 1821–1887 · politician
  • Helen Gurley Brown
    Helen Gurley Brown 1922–2012 · writer
  • Grace Hanfield Stackpole Gurley 1782–1804
  • Henry Hosford Gurley 1788–1833 · judge

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 Gurley,
in the records of 3 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 States522 records

522 records of the Gurley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 286
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 127
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 40
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 23
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 16
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 15
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 13
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Dewey E. Gurley

    Born 1921 in Mississippi. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Shelby; farmer from Alcorn County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Uion Church Cemetery, Corinth, Mississippi.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Walter H. Gurley

    Born 1930; from Pemiscot County, Missouri. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Hannah-M. Gurley

    Arrived at New York in 1852 aboard the Atala from Liverpool, aged 29; laborer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 522 records for Gurley 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) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia11 records

11 records of the Gurley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 9
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ellen Gurley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Emigrant, as an infant; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Anne Gurley

    Died 1836 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 55.

    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 Hugh Gurley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Emigrant, aged 27; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 11 records for Gurley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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).

Canada8 records

8 records of the Gurley name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Leslie Roy Gurley

    Buried in 1978 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 51.

    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
    Civil record Henry Gurley

    Listed at Wilmot Township, Guysborough, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Libbie Gurley

    Married 1896 in Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 8 records for Gurley in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · 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. 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gurley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gurley 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 Gurley volume
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