Diffley Surname

298,559th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1,275 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

Diffley Surname Definition:

These are anglicized forms of Ó Duibhghiolla, the name of two distinct septs-of the southern Uí Fiachrach and of the Siol Anmchadha-both of Co. Galway. Diffley and Deffely are more usual in the adjoining county of Roscommon. In Co. Galway Deely too is a well known synonym; and another is Duffley.

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Diffley Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States8021:451,94438,701
Ireland2621:17,9731,938
England1451:384,26226,878
Canada221:1,674,800111,190
Northern Ireland121:153,7538,250
Australia101:2,699,570109,631
Scotland81:669,22723,443
Wales31:1,031,51134,732
France31:22,140,907385,998
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
South Africa11:54,177,704343,732
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Germany11:80,505,459560,955
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Brazil11:214,074,3321,693,628
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland1861:23,8162,626
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England261:937,51438,808
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States501:1,004,37459,252

Diffley Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

These are anglicized forms of Ó Duibhghiolla, the name of two distinct septs-of the southern Uí Fiachrach and of the Siol Anmchadha-both of Co. Galway. Diffley and Deffely are more usual in the adjoining county of Roscommon. In Co. Galway Deely too is a well known synonym; and another is Duffley. Devally is a modern variant. Devilly is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable — its variants Diffley etc. illustrate this-so that the I of the second syllable is almost silent, and a century or more ago, when the spelling of names was not consistent, a Devilly birth could thus be registered as Devally, and later the influence of the written word resulted in this becoming De-valley in speech.

Among the"synonyms reported by local registrars and recorded by the registrar-general in 1901 Duvalley is noted as interchangeable with Diviney in the Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, district. This is a form of Ó Duibheannaigh, normally anglicized as Devanny, Divenney etc. (See More Irish Families pp. 87, 38). I presume the rare name Diffney is another variant of Diviney.

Supplement to Irish Families (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

A variant of Devilly, q.v

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

These are anglicized forms of Ó Duibhghiolla, the name of two distinct septs-of the southern Uí Fiachrach and of the Siol Anmchadha-both of Co. Galway. Diffley and Deffely are more usual in the adjoining county of Roscommon. In Co. Galway Deely too is a well known synonym; and another is Duffley. Devally is a modern variant. Devilly is pronounced with the emphasis on the first syllable — its variants Diffley etc. illustrate this-so that the I of the second syllable is almost silent, and a century or more ago, when the spelling of names was not consistent, a Devilly birth could thus be registered as Devally, and later the influence of the written word resulted in this becoming De-valley in speech.

Among the"synonyms reported by local registrars and recorded by the registrar-general in 1901 Duvalley is noted as interchangeable with Diviney in the Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, district. This is a form of Ó Duibheannaigh, normally anglicized as Devanny, Divenney etc. (See More Irish Families pp. 87, 38). I presume the rare name Diffney is another variant of Diviney.

Supplement to Irish Families (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

A variant of Devilly, q.v

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

User-submitted Reference

Irish, Originating from Roscommon and meaning 'dubh' or 'the black lad'.

- thediff

Diffley Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Diffley Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Diffley is found most in The United States. It can appear as a variant:. For other potential spellings of Diffley click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Diffley? popularity and diffusion

The last name Diffley is the 298,559th most frequently used family name in the world It is held by approximately 1 in 5,715,722 people. This surname occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 65 percent of Diffley reside; 65 percent reside in North America and 64 percent reside in Anglo-North America.

The last name is most frequently occurring in The United States, where it is borne by 802 people, or 1 in 451,944. In The United States Diffley is mostly found in: New York, where 24 percent are found, Minnesota, where 13 percent are found and California, where 6 percent are found. Excluding The United States this last name is found in 16 countries. It also occurs in Ireland, where 21 percent are found and England, where 11 percent are found.

Diffley Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Diffley has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the surname rose 1,604 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Ireland it rose 141 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in England it rose 558 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Diffley Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the Diffley last name is principally Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Diffley surname are 7.56% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 54.33% being registered to vote for the party.

The amount Diffley earn in different countries varies somewhat. In United States they earn 4.47% less than the national average, earning $41,221 USD per year and in Canada they earn 8.46% more than the national average, earning $53,888 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Difley9257/
Diffly9223/
Diffle921/
Duffley86288/
Deffley86282/
Difflet862/
Diffler862/
Difflie861/
Difflay861/
Diffles860/
Difle838/
Difly830/
Duffle77204/
Difloe7773/
Dufley7728/
Defley7725/
Diffli7712/
Diffla771/
Dhifle771/
Deffly770/
Deffler71106/
Deafley7123/
Dufflei711/
Daiffla711/
Deiflay710/
Dufflay710/
Deifler710/
Defly671,942/
Difli67555/
Difflipp6740/
Difla6727/
Duffelle677/
Difliyah674/
Defle672/
Difelleh672/
Daifelei671/
Dufle671/
Deaffler671/
Deffelle671/
Hdeffler671/
Diffllah671/
Duffilly670/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Diffley
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis