The Raley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,593 people carried this name — #5,281 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 44,600 people counted. That is up 3% from 6,424 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Raley surname

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as an English name: ‘Dweller at the Roe-Lea’.

Or from Raleigh, in South Devon. An early record he cites: Hugh de Ralegh, Hundred Rolls (Devon).

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 102 · public domain.

In print

Raley in American newspapers,
1904–1916.

Newspaper page from The Fairmont West Virginian carrying the name Raley
The Fairmont West Virginian 1904-08-22
Newspaper page from The Monte Vista Journal carrying the name Raley
The Monte Vista Journal 1916-07-01
Newspaper page from The Monte Vista Journal carrying the name Raley
The Monte Vista Journal 1916-01-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 23,130 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Raley in Australian newspapers,
1860s–1950s.

185 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Raley. The most, 44, date from the 1910s. Victoria 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 Tasmania, at 3.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 58
Tasmania 40
New South Wales 34
Western Australia 20
Queensland 19
South Australia 13
ACT (Canberra) 1

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

Who carried it

People named Raley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Emma Jean Kiser 1925–2004 · politician
  • Harold Raley 1934–2024 · writer

Wikidata (CC0) · 5 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Raley,
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 States347 records

347 records of the Raley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 222
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 73
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 26
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 20
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ted C. Raley

    Born 1918 in Alabama. Enlisted 1941 at Fort McClellan; farm hand from Covington County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1996, buried at Hope Well Cemetery, Andalusia, Alabama.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jons Raley

    Arrived at New York in 1904 aboard the Chemnitz from Bremen, aged 35; laborer. From Karopol, Russia.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Joyce C. Raley

    U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1937, died 1998; buried at New Albany National Cemetery, Indiana.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 347 records for Raley 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia20 records

20 records of the Raley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 12
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 5
  • Tasmanian Names Index 3
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Victor Raley

    Salesman of Camberwell, Victoria; died 1952.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Marian Raley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1907 aboard the Runic, aged 7.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record William Raley

    Left Launceston in 1852 aboard the Shamrock, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 20 records for Raley 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: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Raley name in Canada
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. 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 William Emsley Raley

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Elizabeth Raley

    Born 1871 in New Annan, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

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

Counts: 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: Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the Raley 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 Maurice Louis Raley

    Born 1905 in Pouillenay; died 1986 in Dijon (Côte-d'Or).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Marcelle Raley

    Born 1914 in Vienne; died 1994 in Vienne (Isère).

    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).

United Kingdom1 record

1 record of the Raley 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 P. Raley

    Corporal, Royal Horse Artillery. 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). 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 Raley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Raley 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 Raley volume
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