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Carley Family History

Carley Name Meaning

Irish (Roscommon): shortened form of McCarley . English: habitational name from the hamlet of Carley in Lifton (Devon) possibly named with Cornish ker ‘fort round (enclosure)’ + legh ‘flat stone slab’. English: variant of Carlow . Americanized form of Swiss German Kehrli or of its German cognate Kerle (see Kerl ) or of some other similar (like-sounding) German surname.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Carey, Caley, Farley, Corley, Barley, Harley, Charley, Darley, Marley

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Carley family from?

You can see how Carley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Carley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Carley families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 211 Carley families living in Ontario. This was about 62% of all the recorded Carley's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Carley families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Carley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Carley ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Carley. 30% of Carley men worked as a Farmer and 34% of Carley women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Carley were Farmers Son and Servant. .

View Census Data for Carley | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    30%
  • Labourer
    13%
  • Machinist
    7%
  • Farmers Son
    7%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Housekeeper
    34%
  • Clerk
    23%
  • Farmer
    23%
  • Servant
    23%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Carley family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 63,000 census records available for the last name Carley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Carley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Carley

Passenger Lists

There are 6,000 immigration records available for the last name Carley. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 7,000 military records available for the last name Carley. For the veterans among your Carley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Carley military records

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What is the average Carley lifespan?

Between 1945 and 2004, in the United States, Carley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1951, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Carley in 1945 was 41, and 80 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Carley

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