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

Blaney, 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 Blaney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Blaney in America

Blaney is the 8541st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Blaney surname appeared 3,854 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 Blaney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Blaney 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 Blaney

The surname Blaney is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Ó Blanaidh, meaning "descendant of Blanaidh". Blanaidh is believed to be a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "blán", meaning "yellow" or "yellowish-brown". The name is first recorded in the 13th century in County Monaghan, Ireland.

The Blaneys were a prominent family in County Monaghan and held lands in the area of Castleblaney, which takes its name from the family. The earliest documented reference to the name is found in the Annals of Ulster, which mention a "Maelmuire Ua Blanaidh" in the year 1201.

In the 16th century, the Blaney family was heavily involved in the Irish Confederate Wars, with several members fighting alongside the Irish Catholic Confederacy against the English Parliamentarians. One notable figure from this period was Edmond Blaney (c. 1600-1670), a prominent military leader who commanded Irish forces in the siege of Drogheda in 1649.

Another historically significant individual was Sir Edward Blaney (1756-1835), who served as the Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1805 to 1807. He played a crucial role in the suppression of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and was later appointed as the Governor of the Bahamas Islands.

In the literary realm, the name is associated with the Irish poet and playwright, Padraic Colum (1881-1972), whose full name was Patrick Blaney Colum. He was a prominent figure in the Irish Literary Revival and is best known for his works such as "The Island of Statues" and "The Children of Odin".

Other notable individuals bearing the surname Blaney include Patrick J. Blaney (1894-1968), an American politician who served as the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and John Blaney (1913-1995), an Irish hurler who played for the Kilkenny senior hurling team and won several All-Ireland medals.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Blaney

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

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 Blaney 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 Blaney 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 Blaney was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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