Crowley is an English and Irish surname, which was traditionally pronounced in English but is now often pronounced. In England, it is a habitational surname, meaning referring to someone who lived in or nearby a meadow of crows. In Ireland, the name was first found in Moylurg, in County Roscommon, where it started as a branch of the MacDermots. It is from Teige, a Prince of Moylurg, down to Cruadhlaoch that the line of descent for the Crowleys begins. A junior branch of the Crowley family also emerged and moved to the area of Dunmanway, in the west of County Cork. They eventually became a distinct sept with their chief at Kilshallow, thriving while their family of origin gradually decreased in number. The majority of the Crowley family came from the county of Cork, with three-quarters of the family originating from there. The Irish O Cruadhlaoich or Ua Cruadhlaoich, a Gaelic name meaning "descendant of the hard hero" or "descendant of the hardy warrior", was anglicised to "Crowley" or "O'Crowley".

People with the surname

Fictional characters