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 surname Diffley is most common in The United States. It can also occur as a variant:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Diffley? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 298,559th most widely held surname world-wide, held by around 1 in 5,715,722 people. This surname occurs mostly in The Americas, where 65 percent of Diffley live; 65 percent live in North America and 64 percent live in Anglo-North America.

The last name Diffley is most widely held in The United States, where it is borne by 802 people, or 1 in 451,944. In The United States Diffley is most numerous in: New York, where 24 percent live, Minnesota, where 13 percent live and California, where 6 percent live. Without taking into account The United States this surname occurs in 16 countries. It also occurs in Ireland, where 21 percent live and England, where 11 percent live.

Diffley Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Diffley has changed over time. In The United States the number of people carrying the Diffley surname increased 1,604 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Ireland it increased 141 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in England it increased 558 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Diffley Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those carrying the Diffley last name is predominantly Catholic (100%) in Ireland.

In The United States those holding the Diffley surname are 7.56% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 54.33% registered with 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