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Chorley Family History

Chorley Name Meaning

English: habitational name from any of several places notably those in Cheshire Lancashire and Staffordshire named Chorley from Old English ceorla genitive plural of ceorl ‘peasant’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’.

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


Similar surnames: Corley, Thorley, Charley, Morley, Charnley, Chipley, Chumley, Copley

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Chorley family from?

You can see how Chorley families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Chorley family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1841 and 1920. The most Chorley families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1880 there were 18 Chorley families living in Pennsylvania. This was about 55% of all the recorded Chorley's in USA. Pennsylvania had the highest population of Chorley families in 1880.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Chorley surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Chorley ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Weaver were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Chorley. 44% of Chorley men worked as a Laborer and 100% of Chorley women worked as a Weaver. .

View Census Data for Chorley | 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 1940

  • Laborer
    44%
  • Farmer
    32%
  • Farm Laborer
    13%
  • Painter
    13%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Weaver
    100%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Chorley family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 17,000 census records available for the last name Chorley. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Chorley census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Chorley

Passenger Lists

There are 2,000 immigration records available for the last name Chorley. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Chorley immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 1,000 military records available for the last name Chorley. For the veterans among your Chorley ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Chorley military records

You've only scratched the surface of Chorley family history

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What is the average Chorley lifespan?

Between 1962 and 2004, in the United States, Chorley life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1964, and highest in 1984. The average life expectancy for Chorley in 1962 was 87, and 92 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Chorley

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