The Shanley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,511 people carried this name — #7,384 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 65,400 people counted. That is up 8% from 4,162 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Shanley surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Mac Seanlaoich (“son of Seanlaoch”), a personal name composed of the elements sean (“old”) + laoch (“hero, champion”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shanley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 22 births for the Shanley name in 1890.

Most were registered in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 8 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Leitrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 12
Leinster 8
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In print

Shanley in American newspapers,
1887–1909.

Newspaper page from The Bamberg Herald carrying the name Shanley
The Bamberg Herald 1906-01-25
Newspaper page from Press And Daily Dakotaian carrying the name Shanley
Press And Daily Dakotaian 1887-04-07
Newspaper page from Die Eureka Post carrying the name Shanley
Die Eureka Post 1909-07-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 36,376 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shanley in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

2,647 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shanley. The most, 445, date from the 1920s. 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 2.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,225
Victoria 876
Tasmania 143
South Australia 113
Western Australia 103
Queensland 97
ACT (Canberra) 89

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

Who carried it

People named Shanley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Shanley
    John Shanley 1852–1909 · Catholic priest
  • William J. Shanley d. 1918
  • Bernard Michael Shanley 1848–1900
  • Jim Shanley 1854–1904 · baseball player
  • John F. Shanley 1855–1911
  • Catherine Smith Shanley 1857–1930

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 Shanley,
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 States1,796 records

1,796 records of the Shanley name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 882
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 346
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 169
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 134
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 115
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 85
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 63
  • 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 Edward P. Shanley

    Born 1905 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Upton Yaphank; lawyer from Nassau County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1988, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Bridget Shanley

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Adriatic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 18; servant. From Queenstown, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Michael Henry Shanley

    Born 1945; from La Mesa, California. U.S. Army, aircraft armament repairman; declared dead 1969 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,796 records for Shanley in the United States.

Counts: 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, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia141 records

141 records of the Shanley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 42
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 42
  • Tasmanian Names Index 37
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 12
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 2
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 2
  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 Francis Shanley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Samuel Boddington, sailing from Kingston in 1845. Native of Leitrim. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Francis Shanley

    Died 1901 in South Franklin, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1902.

    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 John Shanley

    Arrived in Queensland in 1926 aboard the Oronsay, aged 32.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 141 records for Shanley in Australia.

Counts: 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) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (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); 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).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the Shanley 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 E. Shanley

    East Lancashire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record D. Shanley

    Royal Irish Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Shanley

    West Yorkshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 5 records for Shanley in the United Kingdom.

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).

Canada2 records

2 records of the Shanley name in Canada Canadian Virtual War Memorial
  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 Joseph Shanley

    Died in service in 1918.

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

    Died in service in 1917.

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

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

New Zealand2 records

2 records of the Shanley 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 Doris Shanley

    Died 1988, aged 81; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Kate Shanley

    Died 1889, aged 31; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

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 Shanley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shanley 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 Shanley volume
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