Looney
Derived from the Old English word "lunary" meaning "insane" or "crazy".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Looney. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Looney today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Looney births was 1918 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Looney. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Looney. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1918
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1918 SSA rank
#3,984
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Looney: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Looney by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Looney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Looney
The name Looney is derived from the Old English word "lunr," which means "crazy" or "insane." It first appeared in the late 12th century and was initially used as a nickname or descriptive term for someone who was perceived as eccentric, unpredictable, or mentally unstable.
In the Middle Ages, the name Looney was sometimes used in a derogatory manner to refer to individuals who exhibited strange or unconventional behavior. It was occasionally mentioned in medieval literature and court records, often in connection with legal disputes or accounts of public disturbances.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Looney can be found in the Pipe Rolls of King John from 1201, where a man named Radulfus Looney is mentioned as being involved in a land dispute in Lincolnshire, England.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Looney. One of the earliest was Sir Thomas Looney (c. 1530–1605), an English landowner and member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another prominent figure was Christopher Looney (1642–1717), an Irish Catholic priest and historian who wrote extensively about the persecution of Catholics in Ireland during the 17th century.
In the 19th century, Michael Looney (1825–1893) was an Irish-American entrepreneur and politician who served as the mayor of San Francisco from 1887 to 1889.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Joseph Franklin Looney (1886–1944), an American animator and director who worked for Warner Bros. and created the iconic cartoon character Bugs Bunny.
Another well-known Looney was John Churchill Looney (1897–1975), a British diplomat and author who served as the British ambassador to various countries, including Iran and Turkey, during the mid-20th century.
While the name Looney may have originated as a descriptive term for someone perceived as eccentric or mentally unstable, it has since been embraced by many individuals throughout history, including notable figures from various fields and backgrounds.
People
Looney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Looney as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Looney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Looney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Looney going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about - US residents.
Is Looney a common name?
We classify Looney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Looney most popular?
The single biggest year for Looney was 1918, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Looney is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Looney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Looney a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Looney in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Looney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Looney in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Looney can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Looney?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.