GHORMLEY is the 33,762nd most popular last name (surname) in the United States; frequency is 0.000%; percentile is 82.679 [Source]
More common is the spelling without the "h" or GORMLEY. That name is the 8388th most popular surname, with a frequency of 0.001%, percentile is 69.193. [Source]
The surname has Irish roots after 1000 AD. Most of the ancestors of anyone named GHORMLEY came to North America from Ireland. However, prior to that date, the ancestors may well have been Danes who invaded and settled in the northern part of Ireland. These roots have been traced by some to the Danish king, Gorm dem Gamle. [Source] The most prominent Irish ancestor the webmaster is aware of is Hugh I. Ghormley who came from County Tyrone, Ireland.
It is the theory of the webmaster that the family which descended from ancestors who came to North America prior to 1800 have generally held the spelling of GHORMLEY (with several variations) with the "H". Those who spell their name without the "H" are descendants of Irish immigrants who arrived in the United States after 1800 with most arriving about the time of the Great Potato Famine in Ireland in the mid-1800's. If you have information to dispell this theory, please email the webmaster.
The webmaster has found the spelling in various documents to have taken various forms which include:
In each case, the spelling with the "H" can be shown to be part of the GHORMLEY family while spellings without the "H" can often NOT be traced to the same family. In fact, while not always, spellings of the name without the "H" are generally traced to the GORMLEY family.