Only Surname

107,581st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 4,337 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Saudi Arabia
Highest density in:
Bahrain

Only Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Onely,' a hamlet in the parish of Barby, Norfolk, seven miles from Daventry. Although I do not see any early instances, the first of my references settles the matter.

Edward Onley, or Onelie, Northamptonshire, 1583: Register of the University of Oxford.

Read More About This Surname

Only Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Saudi Arabia1,6701:18,4772,561
Egypt7931:115,9349,519
India5021:1,528,01957,155
Bangladesh3601:442,65811,259
United States1961:1,849,280120,610
Indonesia1491:887,57866,606
Bahrain1181:11,4292,102
Kuwait671:56,7276,926
China551:24,860,3921,354
Iran501:1,535,65060,563
Iraq311:1,129,73113,630
Sudan251:1,500,4083,610
Qatar221:107,18211,536
Singapore211:262,27211,611
Nigeria201:8,857,138186,571
Thailand171:4,155,197336,594
England171:3,277,533109,658
Papua New Guinea121:679,47678,554
Canada121:3,070,466169,836
United Arab Emirates91:1,018,03036,884
Morocco91:3,830,67854,497
Spain91:5,194,67182,436
Netherlands81:2,110,89788,902
Mexico81:15,515,77647,773
Pakistan81:22,330,48677,733
Syria71:2,757,28911,022
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
Colombia61:7,962,34523,614
France61:11,070,454349,096
Malaysia51:5,898,845196,803
Australia51:5,399,140162,351
Hong Kong41:1,833,8716,220
Guatemala41:4,020,6677,726
Philippines41:25,309,556279,062
Germany41:20,126,365436,245
Tunisia41:152,65617,743
Libya41:1,560,9943,087
Lebanon31:1,879,02822,073
Oman31:1,229,3248,987
Ecuador31:5,301,94930,184
Serbia31:2,381,64930,913
Taiwan31:7,814,91541,694
Turkey31:25,940,474162,557
Italy31:20,385,563143,117
Vietnam31:30,882,0184,101
Afghanistan31:10,717,72835,605
Poland21:19,004,374199,659
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Tanzania21:26,470,806111,653
Barbados21:143,7241,981
South Africa21:27,088,852277,613
Scotland21:2,676,90851,579
Bhutan21:308,0201,264
Yemen21:13,212,64740,633
Cambodia21:7,743,57311,959
New Zealand21:2,264,16249,210
Nepal21:14,240,47817,812
Kenya21:23,089,95083,168
Maldives21:202,0864,973
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Armenia11:2,930,18022,770
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Ghana11:27,020,69223,742
Jordan11:8,842,43726,010
Ivory Coast11:23,071,23276,679
Uganda11:39,039,279258,887
Ireland11:4,708,93929,543
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
Gibraltar11:33,9541,660
Algeria11:38,631,551130,422
Hungary11:9,816,27773,288
Romania11:20,077,87089,414
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Chile11:17,616,47493,597
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Iceland11:380,09011,096
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Bolivia11:10,616,43417,077
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Myanmar11:51,937,9852,166
Malta11:430,2723,380
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Solomon Islands11:580,02922,243
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England231:1,059,79941,508
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1531:328,22725,501

Only (3,631) may also be a first name.

Only Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Onely,' a hamlet in the parish of Barby, Norfolk, seven miles from Daventry. Although I do not see any early instances, the first of my references settles the matter.

Edward Onley, or Onelie, Northamptonshire, 1583: Register of the University of Oxford.

The following two quotations evidently refer to the same individual:

1655. Baptised — Elizabeth, d. George Only, vintner: St. Peter, Cornhill.

1655. Buried — George Onely, vintner, in the pit: ibid.

1633. Buried — John Onelye, a poor child: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1686. Thomas Onely and Catharine Broderick: Reg. Vicar-General (Canterbury).

1771. Married — Edward Only and Isabella Davies: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) belonging to Onely, Northants: 16th cent. Onley, Onelie; Onneley, Staffs: Domesday Anelege = 1 the Single Lea [Middle English on, one, ane, œn, Old English án, one, single, unique + M.E ley, lie, Old English leáh, lea] 2 On(n)a’s, or Æn(n)a’s, Lea.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Oneley a hamlet in Northamptonshire.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A U.S. name, the same as Onley (found both in England and the U.S. ); from Oneley, a hamlet co. Northampton. Hence also the U.S. name Onely. See also LEGG.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Only Last Name Facts

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

The last name Only (Arabic: إلا) occurs more in Saudi Arabia more than any other country/territory. It may also be found as a variant:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Only? popularity and diffusion

This surname is the 107,581st most frequently occurring family name internationally, borne by around 1 in 1,680,320 people. The last name is primarily found in Asia, where 72 percent of Only are found; 45 percent are found in West Asia and 44 percent are found in Arabian Peninsula. Only is also the 117,265th most widely held first name throughout the world, held by 3,631 people.

This surname is most frequently used in Saudi Arabia, where it is borne by 1,670 people, or 1 in 18,477. Apart from Saudi Arabia Only is found in 93 countries. It is also common in Egypt, where 18 percent are found and India, where 12 percent are found.

Only Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Only has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Only surname increased 128 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it declined 26 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Only Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the last name is chiefly Orthodox (78%) in Russia.

Only earn somewhat less than the average income. In United States they earn 6.36% less than the national average, earning $40,404 USD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Onley891,988/
Gonly891,168/
Onlay8980/
Honly893/
Onlyy891/
Onnly891/
Oinly891/
Ounly891/
Onliy891/
Onlly890/
Honley80102/
Honlay8091/
Gonlay8089/
Gonley8044/
Onelly8017/
Hounly807/
Gounly802/
Oonlay801/
Onnley800/
Ounley800/
Gonnly800/
Onla75902/
Onle75545/
Anly7542/
Unly7538/
Onli7518/
Osinlay7344/
Gounley7329/
Onnelly734/
Gonelly734/
Ehounly732/
Onilley732/
Onelley732/
Gonnley731/
Osinnly731/
Honelly731/
Onielly731/
Hounley731/
Hounlyo731/
Hoenley730/
Anley675,843/
Hanly673,179/
Ganly671,024/
Gonli67604/
Honla67323/
Gonnelly67224/
Anlay67180/
Gonle67176/
Unlay67159/
Ounle67152/
Hosnlouy6761/
Onlet6757/
Omley6752/
Onleu6743/
Unley6739/
Honle6717/
Ounla6715/
Onlee6712/
Onloi6711/
Oonla6710/
Onlie678/
Annly677/
Honli677/
Onler676/
Hunly676/
Anlly674/
Ounli672/
Gunly671/
Honnelly671/
Atnly671/
Anlyi671/
Ojnla671/
Onnle671/
Omlay671/
Onlai671/
Onlit671/
Gonlé671/
Oonle671/
Onloa671/
Unloy671/
Onles670/

Only Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Only in the Arabic language
إلاala-
آلأala-
الآala-
الأala-
ألأala-

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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 Only
  • 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