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Turley Family History

Turley Name Meaning

Irish (Down): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Toirdealbhaigh a patronymic from the personal name Toirdhealbhach a personal name based on an Irish form of the Old Norse name Thórr ‘Thunder’ + the Gaelic word dealbhach ‘like in the shape of’. Compare McCurley from the lenited form of the same name. Altered form of German Thurley from a personal name formed with Old High German tiuri ‘dear valuable’ + līh (?) related to Gothic leiks ‘body shape’. English (Staffordshire Worcestershire and Gloucestershire): variant of Thurlow or Trillo .

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


Similar surnames: Murley, Durley, Hurley, Turkel, Curley, Dudley, Gurley, Turner

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Turley family from?

You can see how Turley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Turley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Turley families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 437 Turley families living in Staffordshire. This was about 27% of all the recorded Turley's in United Kingdom. Staffordshire had the highest population of Turley families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Turley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Turley ancestors do for a living?

In 1939, General Labourer and Unpaid Domestic Duties were the top reported jobs for men and women in the United Kingdom named Turley. 14% of Turley men worked as a General Labourer and 69% of Turley women worked as an Unpaid Domestic Duties. Some less common occupations for Americans named Turley were Bricklayer and Domestic Duties Unpaid. .

View Census Data for Turley | 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 1939

  • General Labourer
    14%
  • Colliery Hewer
    6%
  • Builders Labourer
    6%
  • Bricklayer
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1939

  • Unpaid Domestic Duties
    69%
  • Unpaid Domestic
    4%
  • Housewife
    2%
  • Domestic Duties Unpaid
    2%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Turley family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 67,000 census records available for the last name Turley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Turley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Turley

Passenger Lists

There are 5,000 immigration records available for the last name Turley. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Turley immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 12,000 military records available for the last name Turley. For the veterans among your Turley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Turley military records

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What is the average Turley lifespan?

Between 1947 and 2004, in the United States, Turley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1950, and highest in 1988. The average life expectancy for Turley in 1947 was 66, and 75 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Turley

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