''Cawley'' is a surname in the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

. There are several different origins of the surname. In some cases the surnames are derived from any of numerous place names in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In other cases the surnames are derived from any of several

Gaelic language The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages. Goidelic languages historically ...

surnames.

Etymology

In some cases the surname is a variant of the surname '' Cowley'',. and is thus derived from any of a number of different place names in England. Such places are located in Buckinghamshire,

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. These place names have numerous different etymologies.. For example, one place name is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

elements ''cu'' and ''leah'', meaning "cow" and "woodland clearing"; another two are from the Old English ''col'', meaning "coal" (in reference to charcoal); other places may be in part derived from the Old English

personal names A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known, ...

''Cufa'' and ''Cofa''. which cited: for the surname "Cowley". In some cases, the surnames are derived from the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

'' MacAmhalghaidh'', and Irish '' Mac Amhalghaidh''. These Gaelic surnames translates into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as "son of ''

Amhalghaidh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''", which is a transcription of: . or "son of '' Amhalghadh''". The Gaelic surnames originated as a patronyms, however they are no longer used to refer to the actual names of the bearers' fathers. The personal name ''Amhalghaidh'' (also spelt ''Amhalghadh'') is an old Gaelic name, and its

etymological Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words a ...

origin and meaning are uncertain. In other cases, the surnames are derived from the Scottish Gaelic '' MacAmhlaidh'', or the Irish '' Mac Amhlaoibh''., which cited: , for the surnames "Cawley" and "McCauley". These surnames translate into English as "son of '' Amhladh''" or "son of ''

Amhlaidh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''"; and "son of ''

Amhlaoibh Aulay is a Scottish masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', ''Amhlaigh'', and ''Amhlaibh''. The standard Irish Gaelic form of these names is ''Amhlaoibh'' (pronounced "ow-liv", and "owl-lee"); ...

''". The Gaelic surnames originated as a patronyms, however they are no longer used to refer to the actual names of the bearers' fathers. The names ''Amhladh'', ''Amhlaidh'', and ''Amhlaoibh'' are Gaelic derivatives of the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...

personal names ''Áleifr'' and '' Óláfr''...

Distribution

United States

In 1990, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

undertook a study of the 1990 United States Census, and released a sample of data concerning the most common names. According to this sample of 6.3 million people (who had 88,799 unique

last name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

s), ''Cawley'' ranked 7,289th most common last name, and was borne by 0.002 percent of the population sample. Within the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, ''Cawley'' was the 5,900th most common last name, with 5,370 occurrences.. The table below shows data concerning racial-ethnic aspects of the surname in the 2000 United States Census..

List of persons with the surname

* Alan Cawley (born 1982), Irish professional football player *

Charles Cawley Charles Michael Cawley (August 15, 1940 – November 18, 2015) was a businessman and founding member of the bank MBNA. Born in Massachusetts, he was raised in New Jersey, was educated at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and was a graduate of G ...

(contemporary), founding member of the bank MBN *

Gerry Cawley Gerry Cawley originally from St Mawgan in Cornwall is well known for being a Cornish Wrestling Champion. Gerry Cawley retired from competitive wrestling although can still be found acting as a stickler (referee) in the Cornish Wrestling ring. In ...

(contemporary), Cornish wrestling champion *

Harold Thomas Cawley Captain Harold Thomas Cawley (12 June 1878 – 23 September 1915) was a British barrister, Liberal Party politician and soldier. Background Born at Crumpsall, he was the second son of Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley and his wife Elizabeth Sm ...

(1878–1915), British politician and soldier, son of 1st Baron Cawley; killed in World War I *

James Cawley James Cawley (born June 23, 1967) is an American executive film producer and actor, known for his assumption of the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the fan film series ''Star Trek: Phase II''. ''Star Trek: Phase II'' A big ''Star Trek'' fan ...

(born 1967), American actor *

Jim Cawley James Cawley (born June 22, 1969) is an American politician who served as the 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. A Republican, he previously served on the Board of Commissioners of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Early life, ...

, lieutenant governor of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

*John Cawley, see

John Calley John Nicholas Calley (July 8, 1930 – September 13, 2011) was an American film studio executive and producer. He was quite influential during his years at Warner Bros., where he worked from 1968 to 1981, and "produced a film a month, on average ...

(died 1725), British co-inventor of the Newcomen steam engine. *

Katie Schumacher-Cawley Katie Anne Schumacher-Cawley (born March 10, 1980) is an American former volleyball and basketball player and is the head coach of the Penn State women's volleyball team. After serving as the associate head coach since 2018, she was named head c ...

(born 1980), American volleyball/basketball player and coach *

Oswald Cawley Oswald Cawley (7 October 1882 – 22 August 1918), styled The Honourable from January 1918, was a British soldier and Liberal Party politician. He was the fourth and youngest son of Frederick Cawley, 1st Baron Cawley and his wife Elizabeth S ...

(1882–1918), British politician and soldier, son of 1st Baron Cawley; killed in World War I * Peter Cawley (born 1965), English professional football player *

Rex Cawley Warren Jay Cawley (July 6, 1940 – January 21, 2022) was an American athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 1964 Summer Olympics. Cawley was born in Highland Park, Michigan. He attended Farmington High School. Cawley still holds the record t ...

(born 1940), American Olympic hurdler * Richard Cawley (contemporary), English couturier *

Shirley Cawley Shirley Cawley (born 26 April 1932) is a British former athlete who won the bronze medal in the long jump at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. She was born in Croydon and ran for the Croydon Harriers Croydon Harriers is a ...

(born 1932), British Olympic long jumper *

Tucker Cawley Tucker Cawley is an American television comedy writer and producer, best known for writing episodes for ''Everybody Loves Raymond''. He has also written for ''Men of a Certain Age'', ''Parks and Recreation'', '' Up All Night'', and the short-lived ...

(contemporary), American television comedy writer and producer * William Cawley (1602–1667), British politician; MP for Midhurst 1640 * Will Cawley, English boxer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cawley English-language surnames Patronymic surnames English toponymic surnames

Etymology

Distribution

United States

List of persons with the surname

See also

References