The Lindley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,260 people carried this name — #3,482 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 28,700 people counted. That is up 2% from 10,053 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Lindley surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

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

An early record he cites: Robert de Linleye, Bedfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Lindley and Linley.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 485 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

30 people named Lindley is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 30

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Lindley was found among the farmers of Nottinghamshire: 20 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

Nottinghamshire 20

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 the first U.S. census, 1790

55 families named Lindley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 288 people lived in those households, 5.2 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 3 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

Connecticut 18
Pennsylvania 11
Vermont 7
New York 6
North Carolina 6
Massachusetts 3
South Carolina 3
Rhode Island 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. 250 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Lindley in American newspapers,
1881–1916.

Newspaper page from The Tupelo Journal carrying the name Lindley
The Tupelo Journal 1916-06-09
Newspaper page from The Livingston Enterprise carrying the name Lindley
The Livingston Enterprise 1886-11-06
Newspaper page from Rocky Mountain Husbandman carrying the name Lindley
Rocky Mountain Husbandman 1881-03-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 85,332 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Lindley in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

21,373 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Lindley. The most, 4,864, 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 Western Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 7,967
Queensland 5,947
Western Australia 2,977
Victoria 1,870
Tasmania 1,380
South Australia 994
ACT (Canberra) 179
Northern Territory 11

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

Who carried it

People named Lindley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Mary Lindley Murray
    Mary Lindley Murray 1720–1782
  • Robert Lindley
    Robert Lindley 1776–1855 · composer
  • Robert Lindley
    Robert Lindley 1776–1855 · composer
  • John Lindley
    John Lindley 1799–1865 · writer
  • Barbara Constance Slade d. 1981
  • Arthur Lindley 1570–

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 Lindley,
in the records of 5 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 States841 records

841 records of the Lindley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 363
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 144
  • Other U.S. records 334
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Ronnie Dean Lindley

    Born 1949; from Memphis, Tennessee. U.S. Marine Corps, mortarman; died in an accident 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.

    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 Charles W. Lindley

    Born 1900 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; route man from Salem County, New Jersey. 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 Lizzie Lindley

    Arrived at New York in 1880 aboard the Ethiopia from Glasgow, aged 16; servant. From Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 841 records for Lindley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (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).

Australia338 records

338 records of the Lindley name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 136
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 100
  • Other Australian records 102
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Agnes May Lindley

    Died 1929 in Cottage Hospital, Sorell, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1929.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Garnet Lindley

    Married 1880 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 22. Died 1890 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 33.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 David Lindley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Admiral Gambier, arriving 1811.

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

Showing 3 of 338 records for Lindley 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) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

United Kingdom26 records

26 records of the Lindley name in the United Kingdom
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 14
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 12
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Lindley

    Buried in 1831 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 I. Lindley

    Loyal North Lancashire 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 page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Sophia Lindley

    Buried in 1850 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 45.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 26 records for Lindley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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).

Canada14 records

14 records of the Lindley name in Canada
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 8
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • Other Canadian records 4
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Emma Lindley

    Died 1993, aged 77; buried at Transcona 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 Audri Leslie Lindley

    Died 1974 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 20.

    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 George Henry Lindley

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 14 records for Lindley in Canada.

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

New Zealand3 records

3 records of the Lindley 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 James Ernest Lindley

    Died 1977, aged 81; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Lindley 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Lindley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Lindley 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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