Riley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Riley surname originally appeared in Gaelic as O Raghailligh, which means descendant of Raghallach.

Early Origins of the Riley family

The surname Riley was first found in County Cavan. They were known as the Princes of East Breffny, descended from Raghallaigh, Prince of Breffny in 981. They maintained their territory during the Anglo/Norman invasion of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, in 1172, but Sir John O’Reilly, Prince of Breffny surrendered the principality to Queen Elizabeth I thereby ensuring that his territories remained intact.

Early History of the Riley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Riley research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1598, 1669, 1630, 1695, 1689, 1640, 1703, 1689, 1646, 1691 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Riley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Riley Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variationsduring the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Riley include O’Reilly, O’Reilley, O’Reily, O’Rielly, O’Riely, O’Riley, O’Rilley, Reel and many more.

Early Notables of the Riley family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Count John O’Reilly; Edmund O’Reilly (1598-1669), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh; Hugh Reily (Reilly or O’Reilly) (c.1630-1695) Irish Member of Parliament for Cavan Borough in the Patriot Parliament of 1689; Philip Og O’Reilly (Gaelic was Phillip Óg O’Raghallaigh)(c.1640-1703), Irish… 
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Riley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Riley World Ranking

In the United States, the name Riley is the 187^th most popular surname with an estimated 131,811 people with that name. [1] However, in Canada, the name Riley is ranked the 753^rdmost popular surname with an estimated 7,095 people with that name. [2] And in Australia, the name Riley is the 245^th popular surname with an estimated 14,086 people with that name. [3]New Zealand ranks Riley as 267^th with 2,257 people. [4] The United Kingdom ranks Riley as 176^th with 31,184 people. [5]

 Riley migration to the United States +

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland’s population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name Riley: 

Riley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

• Garrett Riley, aged 24, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 aboard the ship “Bonaventure” coming via St. Domingo [6]
• Miles Riley, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1634 aboard the ship “Bonaventure” coming via St. Domingo [6]
• Elizabeth Riley, aged 18, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 [6]
• Richard Riley, who arrived in Virginia in 1649 [6]