Hawley Family History

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Hawley Name Meaning

English and Scottish: habitational name from any of various places called Hawley. One in Kent is named with Old English halig ‘holy’ + leah ‘wood’, ‘clearing’, and would therefore have once been the site of a sacred grove. One in Hampshire has as its first element Old English h(e)all ‘hall’, ‘manor’, or healh ‘nook’, ‘corner of land’. However, the surname is common in South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, and may principally derive from a lost place near Sheffield named Hawley, from Old Norse haugr ‘mound’ + Old English leah ‘clearing’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press


Similar surnames: Howley, Fawley, Halley, Hadley, Hanley, Harley, Haley, Hatley, Hagley

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Hawley Ethnicity Estimate

What are the common regions with the Hawley name?

These results combine data from everyone in the AncestryDNA® database with the last name Hawley. The Ancestry® ethnicity regions shown are top five most common on average for these people.

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  • England & Wales

    50%

  • Ireland & Scotland

    19%

  • Germanic Europe

    8%

  • Norway

    4%

  • Sweden

    3%

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Hawley Family Origin

Where is the Hawley family from?

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You can see how Hawley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hawley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hawley families were found in the USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 773 Hawley families living in Yorkshire. This was about 25% of all the recorded Hawley's in the UK. Yorkshire had the highest population of Hawley families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Hawley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

View Census Data for Hawley

Hawley Family Occupations

What did your Hawley ancestors do for a living?

In 1881, the most common Hawley occupation in the UK was Coal Miner. 4% of Hawley's were Coal Miners. Coal Miner, Farmer and Blacksmith were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Hawley. A less common occupation for the Hawley family was Labourer.

View Census data for Hawley | Data not to scale

  • Coal Miner

    4%

  • Farmer

    3%

  • Blacksmith

    2%

  • Labourer

    2%

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Hawley ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

Hawley Historical Records

What Hawley family records will you find?

Census Record

There are 178,000 census records available for the last name Hawley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Hawley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search 1891 UK census records for Hawley

Passenger List

There are 15,000 immigration records available for the last name Hawley. 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 Hawley immigration records

Draft Card

There are 27,000 military records available for the last name Hawley. For the veterans among your Hawley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Hawley military records

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Hawley Life Expectancy

What is the average Hawley lifespan?

Between 1940 and 2004, in the United States, Hawley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1944, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Hawley in 1940 was 46, and 77 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Hawley

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Hawley ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

Famous Hawley Family Ancestors

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