The Housley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,960 people carried this name — #8,361 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,600 people counted. That is up 9% from 3,628 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Housley surname

Habitational surname from a minor place in South Yorkshire, from Old English hūs (“house”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Housley» (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 Houseley’.

An early record he cites: Johannes de Houselay, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Houseley and Housley.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 402 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Housley was found among the farmers of Derbyshire: 7 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Derbyshire 7

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In print

Housley in American newspapers,
1839–1913.

Newspaper page from The Topeka State Journal carrying the name Housley
The Topeka State Journal 1913-09-27
Newspaper page from Morning Star carrying the name Housley
Morning Star 1839-10-30
Newspaper page from Los Angeles Herald carrying the name Housley
Los Angeles Herald 1905-11-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,491 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Housley in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

386 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Housley. The most, 152, date from the 1890s. 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 the Australian Capital Territory, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 93
Victoria 93
Queensland 89
Western Australia 43
South Australia 39
ACT (Canberra) 20
Tasmania 7
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Housley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Richard Housley 1849–1881 · cricket umpire
  • Trevor Housley 1910–1968 · civil servant
  • Stuart Housley 1948–2021 · association football player
  • Alaina Housley 2000–2018

Wikidata (CC0) · 7 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Housley,
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 States207 records

207 records of the Housley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 116
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 40
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 19
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 17
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph R. Housley

    Born 1916 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia; office clerk. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Knoxville, Tennessee.

    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 Charles Larry Housley

    Born 1948; from Decherd, Tennessee. U.S. Army, field artillery basic; died in an accident 1967 in Pleiku, South Vietnam.

    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 William Housley

    Arrived at New York in 1869 aboard the City of New York from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 45; farmer. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 207 records for Housley in the United States.

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

Australia24 records

24 records of the Housley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 12
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  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 Matthew Housley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Persian, sailing from Falmouth in 1830. Native of Ecclesfield, Yorkshire.

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

    Arrived in Victoria in 1886 aboard the Potosi, aged 37; Scottish.

    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 Trevor Alfred Housley

    Engineer of Kew, Victoria; died 1968.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 24 records for Housley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); 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).

Canada9 records

9 records of the Housley name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 7
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles Housley

    Died 1904; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. 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 George Housley

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Sarah Margaret Housley

    Died 1923; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 9 records for Housley in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom2 records

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

    Buried in 1806 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 35.

    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 E. Housley

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

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

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 Housley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Housley 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 Housley volume
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