The Whaley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 22,833 people carried this name — #1,575 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 12,900 people counted. That is up 4% from 22,000 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Whaley surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

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

In the first U.S. census, 1790

78 families named Whaley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 471 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 15 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 York 22
North Carolina 12
Rhode Island 9
Connecticut 8
Pennsylvania 7
South Carolina 7
Virginia 5
Maryland 4
Massachusetts 2
Maine 1
Vermont 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. 268 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Whaley in American newspapers,
1859–1913.

Newspaper page from Greene County Herald carrying the name Whaley
Greene County Herald 1913-05-16
Newspaper page from The Wheatland World carrying the name Whaley
The Wheatland World 1913-05-16
Newspaper page from New Orleans Daily Crescent carrying the name Whaley
New Orleans Daily Crescent 1859-12-24

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 69,858 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Whaley in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

2,000 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Whaley. The most, 414, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 821
New South Wales 369
South Australia 324
Western Australia 220
Queensland 202
ACT (Canberra) 32
Tasmania 27
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Whaley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Anne Whaley
    Anne Whaley 1751–1844
  • Richard Baden Whaley d. 1982
  • Catherine Armitage d. 1758
  • Charles Herbert Whaley d. 1885
  • Olivia Georgina Katherine Whaley d. 1945
  • William Whaley d. 1843

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 Whaley,
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 States1,665 records

1,665 records of the Whaley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 771
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 338
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 216
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 154
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 99
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 47
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 30
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Goodwin Whaley

    Born 1945; from Sacramento, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; died in an accident 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Walter W. Whaley

    Born 1920 in North Carolina. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Bragg; cook from Wake County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1992, buried at Salisbury National Cemetery, North Carolina.

    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 Jane Whaley

    Arrived at New York in 1851 aboard the Constellation from Liverpool, aged 23; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 1,665 records for Whaley 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, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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).

Australia129 records

129 records of the Whaley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 63
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 39
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 14
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 6
  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 John Whaley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Anne, arriving 1810.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Horace Whaley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1856 aboard the Angelsey, aged 24; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William G. Whaley

    Merchant of West Brunswick, Victoria; died 1957.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 129 records for Whaley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada27 records

27 records of the Whaley name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 9
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 4
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 4
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Brian Whaley

    Died 1993, aged 60; 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 Hilda M. Whaley

    Died 1914 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    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 Frank Whaley

    Died in service in 1920.

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

Showing 3 of 27 records for Whaley in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. 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).

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Whaley 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 W. Whaley

    Lincolnshire 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 J. H. Whaley

    York and Lancaster Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 2 of 4 records for Whaley 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Whaley name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Ferrand Whaley

    Married in 1711 in Rotterdam; born in Winterbourn.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Whaley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Whaley 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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