The Isley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,754 people carried this name — #8,736 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 78,700 people counted. That is up 4% from 3,621 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Isley surname

As an English and Welsh surname

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

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 421 · public domain.

In print

Isley in American newspapers,
1891–1909.

Newspaper page from The Vinita Daily Chieftain carrying the name Isley
The Vinita Daily Chieftain 1909-09-04
Newspaper page from The Weekly Chieftain carrying the name Isley
The Weekly Chieftain 1909-09-10
Newspaper page from The Times carrying the name Isley
The Times 1891-12-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,689 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Isley in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1960s.

1,803 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Isley. The most, 376, date from the 1910s. 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 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 711
Queensland 627
South Australia 218
Victoria 174
Western Australia 37
Tasmania 26
ACT (Canberra) 9

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

Who carried it

People named Isley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jennifer Jones
    Jennifer Jones 1919–2009 · actor
  • O'Kelly Isley, Jr.
    O'Kelly Isley, Jr. 1937–1986 · composer
  • O'Kelly Isley, Jr.
    O'Kelly Isley, Jr. 1937–1986 · composer
  • Rudolph Isley
    Rudolph Isley 1939–2023 · singer-songwriter
  • Henry Isley d. 1554 · politician
  • John Isley d. 1484

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 Isley,
in the records of 6 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 States208 records

208 records of the Isley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 121
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 37
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 25
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 11
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  • Sacramento County historic burials 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 Lexter Isley

    Born 1909 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island, New York; porter. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1977, 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)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Dayton Fred Isley

    Born 1933; from Washington County, Tennessee. U.S. Army, medical aidman; 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 Sarah Isley

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Robert Kelly from Liverpool, aged 24; weaver. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 208 records for Isley 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) · 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) · 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).

Australia36 records

36 records of the Isley name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 20
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 4
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Ann E. Isley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Ballengiech, aged 29; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Joseph Isley

    Married 1849 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George Cornelius Isley

    Of March, New South Wales; died 1891.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)

Showing 3 of 36 records for Isley 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) · State Library of Western Australia (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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada18 records

18 records of the Isley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 15
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Isley

    Came to Ontario in 1872 aboard the Medway, landing at Quebec, bound for Hamilton, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Minnie C. Isley

    Died 1907 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    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 Harriet Isley

    Married 1894 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 18 records for Isley in Canada.

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

United Kingdom2 records

2 records of the Isley 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 First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Isley

    Idyal 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 1 of 2 records for Isley in the United Kingdom.

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: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Isley 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 Salomon Robert Isley

    Born 1910 in Hayange; died 1997 in Metz (Moselle).

    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).

Germany1 record

1 record of the Isley name in Germany Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Heinrich Isley

    From Effolderbach, Büdingen. Reported wounded in the Prussian casualty list of 28 October 1918.

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Isley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Isley 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.

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