| ![Show Contents]() Hurley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
Etymology of HurleyWhat does the name Hurley mean? The Irish name Hurley comes from the Gaelic "O hUirthile." Interestingly, the name has also been rendered Cammane, based on a translation for the Irish word for a hurley (stick). One of the first records of the family was Saint Comman of Ross-Commain (fl. 550). He was "son of Faelchu and descendant of Fiacha Araidhe, of the family of Rudhraighe, and race of Ir, king of Ulster, A.D. 236. In a short time he constructed a monastery, after the temporary fashion of the country, which was soon filled with zealous monks, and was named from him Ross-Commain (Roscommon). " 1 Early Origins of the Hurley familyThe surname Hurley was first found in Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) located in Southwestern Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat as Lords and Chiefs of Knockalong Castle in the parish and barony of Knockalong, Costlea, the ruins of which still exist. Irish history was greatly influenced by the Norman invasion of 1172, and thereafter, the surnames of Irish Gaelic clanns and septs and many of the Norman families became almost indistinguishable. This family name was found later in Rath Hurly, another of their ancient castles which is now in ruins in Kilcullane, in Small barony, Kilcullane, a castle they erected in 1464. The sept is descended from the race of Brenan Ban, on the O'Brien line. Later they built another strong castle in the parish of Kilnelonahan, where Dermod O'Hurley, built his fortress. 2 Early History of the Hurley familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hurley research. Another 92 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1377, 1519, 1584, 1700, 1714 and 1992 are included under the topic Early Hurley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Hurley Spelling VariationsSpelling variations of this family name include: Hurley, Hurlie, O'Hurley, O'Hurlie, Commane and many more. Early Notables of the Hurley familyNotable amongst the family name at this time was - Dermot O'Hurley (1519-1584), Archbishop of Cashel, horribly tortured for his beliefs, one of the most celebrated of Irish Catholic Martyrs, beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992
- William Hurley was the master carpenter for Edward III (reign 1327-1377), in charge of timber works for all royal buildings including the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Westminster Palace
Hurley World RankingIn the United States, the name Hurley is the 807th most popular surname with an estimated 37,305 people with that name. 3 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Hurley is ranked the 244th most popular surname with an estimated 179 people with that name. 4 And in Australia, the name Hurley is the 631st popular surname with an estimated 6,197 people with that name. 5 New Zealand ranks Hurley as 503rd with 1,365 people. 6 The United Kingdom ranks Hurley as 962nd with 7,239 people. 7
| Hurley migration to the United States | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Hurley Settlers in United States in the 18th Century- Eliza Hurley, who landed in Virginia in 1700 8
- Daniel Hurley, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1745 8
Hurley Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- David Hurley, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 8
- Ellen Hurley, aged 25, who arrived in America in 1822 8
- Philip Hurley, who arrived in New York in 1834 8
- James Hurley, who landed in Tippecanoe County, Ind in 1842 8
- Thomas Hurley, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1853 8
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Hurley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century- Mr. Timothy Hurley, (b. 1861), aged 41, Cornish miner from Camborne, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "Oceanic" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 8th October 1902 en route to Butte, Montana, USA 9
| Hurley migration to Canada | + |
Some of the first settlers of this family name were: Hurley Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century- William Hurley, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749
- John Hurley, who landed in Quebec in 1784
- Mr. John Hurley U.E. who settled in Marysburgh [Prince Edward County], Ontario c. 1784 10
Hurley Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century- Michael Hurley, aged 33, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Ward" from Limerick, Ireland
- John Hurley, aged 30, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Ann & Mary" from Cork, Ireland
- Thadeus Hurley, aged 17, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Ann & Mary" from Cork, Ireland
- John Hurley, aged 26, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Ann & Mary" from Cork, Ireland
- Ellen Hurley, aged 40, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Ann & Mary" from Cork, Ireland
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Hurley migration to Australia | + |
Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include: Hurley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century- Miss Elizabeth Hurley, British Convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
- Mr. Timothy Hurley, British convict who was convicted in Ayr, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
- Mr. John Charles Hurley, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 22nd September 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
- Mr. Jeremiah Hurley, (b. 1784), aged 43, Irish seaman who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 19th July 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1830 14
- Mr. Murtagh Hurley, (b. 1792), aged 35, Irish labourer who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 19th July 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Hurley migration to New Zealand | + |
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include: Hurley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century- Alexander Hurley, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
- Matilda Hurley, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1841
- Joseph Hurley, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Bernian
- Joseph Hurley a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
- Winifred Hurley, aged 30, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Birman" in 1842
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Contemporary Notables of the name Hurley (post 1700) | + |
- Michael Hurley (1941-2025), American folk singer-songwriter, part of the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the 1960s and 1970s
- Chad Meredith Hurley (b. 1977), American webmaster and businessman, former chief executive officer (CEO) of YouTube which he co-founded
- Ruby Hurley (1909-1980), American civil rights activist, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and administrator for the NAACP, known as the "Queen of Civil Rights"
- Evelyn Hurley (1915-2024), American nun and educator
- James R. Hurley (1932-2023), American politician, Member of the New Jersey Legislature from 1968 to 1990
- Olga Katherine Torkelsen "Katie" Hurley (1921-2021), American politician, Secretary to Alaska Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening (1944-1953)
- Bruce Hurley (1934-2020), American politician, Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives (1971-1989)
- Francis Thomas Hurley (1927-2016), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Archbishop of Anchorage from 1976 to 2001
- Marcus Hurley (1883-1941), American four time gold and one time bronze Olympic medalist for cycling at the 1904 games
- Paul Hurley (b. 1946), former American ice hockey player
- ... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
| Historic Events for the Hurley family | + |
- Mr. John Hurley, British Petty Office Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 16
- Mr. Charles Edwin Hurley, American 3rd Class passenger from Brockton, Massachusetts, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 17
- Miss Margaret Hurley, Australian 1st Class Passenger, Maid to the Learoyds family from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 17
- Mr. Wendell Ray Hurley, American Musician Second Class from Indiana, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 18
USS Indianapolis - Woodrow Hurley (1915-1985), American crew member on board the ship "USS Indianapolis" when she was on a top secret trip for the first nuclear weapon, she was sunk by Japanese Navy on 30th July 1945, he survived the sinking 19
| Suggested Readings for the name Hurley | + |
- The Ancestry of William Neal Hurley III [sic]; A Record of Many of His Ancestors and Present Day Relatives Who Share the Common Ancestry by William Neal Hurley.
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
- "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
- "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
- "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
- Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
- Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
- HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
- Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
- Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html
- Final Crew List, retrieved 2021, October 30th Retrieved from https://www.ussindianapolis.com/final-crew
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