Find out how popular the last name Arney is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Arney.

Arney, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Arney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arney in America

Arney is the 9548th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arney surname appeared 3,405 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Arney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arney to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Arney

The surname ARNEY is believed to have its origins in the Old English words "earn" meaning "eagle" and "ieg" meaning "island" or "watery place." This suggests that the name initially referred to someone who lived on an island inhabited by eagles or near an area where these majestic birds were commonly seen.

The earliest known records of the ARNEY surname date back to the 12th century in the county of Shropshire, England. In the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and resources across England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are several references to places with names similar to ARNEY, such as Earnedic and Ernedie.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the ARNEY surname was Sir John Arney, a knight who lived in Shropshire during the 13th century. He was a prominent landowner and is mentioned in various historical documents from that time period.

In the 16th century, the ARNEY surname began to appear more frequently in records across different regions of England. Notable bearers of the name include Thomas Arney (1533-1592), a clergyman and academic who served as the Archdeacon of Taunton in Somerset, and Elizabeth Arney (1610-1678), a wealthy landowner and benefactor from Gloucestershire.

As the ARNEY surname spread across the British Isles, variations in spelling emerged, such as Arny, Arnay, Arnaye, and Arnie. These variations were often influenced by local dialects and the whims of record-keepers who transcribed names based on their own interpretations.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, several individuals with the ARNEY surname made their mark in various fields. Among them were Sir William Arney (1641-1718), a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire, and Captain John Arney (1705-1778), a naval officer who participated in several significant battles during the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War.

As people bearing the ARNEY surname migrated to other parts of the world, the name took on new meanings and associations. For instance, in the United States, the ARNEY surname is often associated with individuals whose ancestors hailed from regions like Pennsylvania and Virginia, where early settlers from England and other parts of the British Isles established communities.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arney

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Arney.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Arney was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Arney has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Arney was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Arney, please contact us.

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