The Wadley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,968 people carried this name — #8,342 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 74,100 people counted. That is up 10% from 3,598 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Wadley surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

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

An early record he cites: Hugh de Wadele, Norfolk, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Wadley and Wadleigh.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 786 · public domain.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Wadley was found among the farmers of Gloucestershire: 17 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

Gloucestershire 17

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

45 families named Wadley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 242 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 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

New Hampshire 25
Maine 10
Massachusetts 7
Pennsylvania 1
Maryland 1
Virginia 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. 267 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Wadley in American newspapers,
1911–1913.

Newspaper page from The Pickens Sentinel carrying the name Wadley
The Pickens Sentinel 1911-09-28
Newspaper page from Evening Journal carrying the name Wadley
Evening Journal 1913-06-24
Newspaper page from The Daily Ardmoreite carrying the name Wadley
The Daily Ardmoreite 1912-10-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 15,621 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wadley in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1990s.

7,842 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wadley. The most, 1,779, date from the 1930s. Queensland 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 3.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 4,008
Tasmania 1,638
New South Wales 1,602
Victoria 386
Western Australia 123
South Australia 64
ACT (Canberra) 13

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

Who carried it

People named Wadley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Dole Wadley
    Dole Wadley 1824–1891
  • William M. Wadley 1813–1882 · military personnel
  • Sarah Lois Wadley 1844–1920 · writer
  • Mary Millen Wadley 1848–1936
  • Marie Wadley 1906–2009 · founder
  • Robert Wadley 1925–2004 · military personnel

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 Wadley,
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 States237 records

237 records of the Wadley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 127
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 58
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 17
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 15
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 10
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 6
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 2
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ellis H. Wadley

    Born 1923 in Iowa. Enlisted 1945 at Seattle, Washington; hatchery worker from Lewis County, Washington. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1986, buried at Eagle Point National Cemetery, Oregon.

    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 Jack Dale Wadley

    Born 1946; from Amarillo, Texas. U.S. Army, armor crewman; killed in action 1969 in Thua Thien, 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 Sarah Wadley

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Oregon from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 27; matron.

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

Showing 3 of 237 records for Wadley 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, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · 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); 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).

Australia343 records

343 records of the Wadley name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 188
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 76
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 56
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 16
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 5
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 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 Thomas Wadley

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Eliza, sailing from Portsmouth in 1831. Native of Preston Crowmarsh, Oxfordshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1835. Married 1835 in Longford, Tasmania.

    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 Louisa Wadley

    Died 1926 in Bracknell, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1926.

    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 Rosa G. Wadley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1915 aboard the Commonwealth, aged 29.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 343 records for Wadley in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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 Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Wadley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 3
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 2
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Charlotte Wadley

    Buried in 1802 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 52.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Wadley

    Will proved in 1932.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. Wadley

    Grenadier Guards. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 6 records for Wadley 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. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand4 records

4 records of the Wadley 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 Florence Louise Wadley

    Died 1978, aged 83; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, 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 Alma Maud Wadley

    Died 1959; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Wadley 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).

France3 records

3 records of the Wadley 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 Georges Wadley

    Born 1908 in Russia; died 1997 in Dreux (Eure-et-Loir).

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

    Born 1920 in Paris; died 1992 in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Kevin Roy Wadley

    Born 1951 in Great Britain; died 1997 in La Berthenoux (Indre).

    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).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Wadley name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Dorothy Drucilla Wadley

    Born 1923 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Wadley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Wadley 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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