The Wooley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,109 people carried this name — #5,679 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,300 people counted. That is down 1% from 6,176 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Wooley surname

Heterographic variant of Woolley.

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

An early record he cites: Johannes de Wulley, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

His entry covers Woolley and Wooley.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 826 · public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 142 people named Wooley live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

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

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 142

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Wooley in American newspapers,
1842–1871.

Newspaper page from Independent Democrat carrying the name Wooley
Independent Democrat 1842-11-26
Newspaper page from New-hampshire Statesman And State Journal carrying the name Wooley
New-hampshire Statesman And State Journal 1842-11-11
Newspaper page from The Opelousas Journal carrying the name Wooley
The Opelousas Journal 1871-01-07

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 43,570 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Wooley in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

3,775 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Wooley. The most, 616, 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 South Australia, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,072
South Australia 945
Queensland 766
Victoria 423
Tasmania 355
Western Australia 186
ACT (Canberra) 19
Northern Territory 6

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

Who carried it

People named Wooley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sheb Wooley
    Sheb Wooley 1921–2003 · composer
  • Thomas Ridge Wooley Sr. 1841–1917 · politician
  • Josephine Wooley 1871–1946
  • Josephine Wooley 1873–1946
  • Elmer O. Wooley 1883–1964 · writer
  • Gilbert Wooley 1896–1953 · cricketer

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 Wooley,
in the records of 4 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 States803 records

803 records of the Wooley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 284
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 193
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 137
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 137
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 22
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 20
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 2
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Milton G. Wooley

    Born 1919 in Idaho. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Lewis, Washington; craneman. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Columbia Memorial Gardens, Scappoose, Oregon.

    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 Catherine Wooley

    Arrived at Philadelphia in 1850 aboard the Mary Pleasants from Liverpool, aged 50; servant. From Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

    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 Henry Eugene Wooley

    Born 1946; from Banks, Arkansas. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1968 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam.

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

Showing 3 of 803 records for Wooley 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). 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).

Australia290 records

290 records of the Wooley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 129
  • Tasmanian Names Index 106
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 29
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 20
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 3
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Rosa A. Wooley

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Lady Kennaway, aged 18; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Reginald Charles Wooley

    Labourer of Sth Yarra, Victoria; died 1970.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Wooley

    Of Dora Creek, New South Wales; died 1923.

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

Showing 3 of 290 records for Wooley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada49 records

49 records of the Wooley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 32
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 7
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 4
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 3
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 2
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Harriet Wooley

    Came to Ontario in 1877 aboard the Moravian, bound for Weston, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record William Henry Wooley

    Died 1927 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Stewart Wooley

    Died 1952; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 49 records for Wooley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom11 records

11 records of the Wooley name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 10
  • Stirling Council burial records 1
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Wooley

    Lance Corporal, King's (Liverpool Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    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 A. Wooley

    Gunner, Engineers. 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 First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record H. Wooley

    Cheshire 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 3 of 11 records for Wooley in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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 Wooley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Wooley 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 Wooley volume
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