2000
#105,374
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 157
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Claney
A surname possibly derived from a place name in Ireland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Claney. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Claney surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Claney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Claney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Claney, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Claney
The surname Claney is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name "O'Clonaigh" or "O'Cloney," which means "descendant of Clonagh." The name is believed to have originated in County Donegal, Ireland, around the 11th or 12th century.
The Claney name can be traced back to the ancient Irish clan system, where families and communities were organized around clans and septs. The Clonagh clan was likely based in the Donegal region, and the surname Claney evolved as a variant of the original Gaelic name over time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Claney surname can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The Annals mention a "Donnell O'Cloney" who was involved in a conflict in 1487.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, variations of the name, such as "Cloney" and "Clunie," appeared in historical records and manuscripts from County Donegal. Some notable individuals from this period include John Cloney (c. 1550-1620), a Catholic priest and scholar, and Hugh Cloney (c. 1580-1640), a landowner and member of the Irish gentry.
As the Claney family spread across Ireland and beyond, the name took on various spellings, including "Clanny," "Clanney," and "Clooney." One of the most famous bearers of the name was Brian Clooney (1920-2002), an Irish actor and comedian who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.
Other historical figures with the Claney surname include William Claney (1786-1859), an Irish-born businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Toronto, Canada, in the 1840s, and Michael Claney (1833-1912), an Irish-American Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools in the United States.
The Claney name has a rich history and can be traced back to the ancient clans of Ireland, with various spelling variations and notable individuals contributing to its legacy over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Claney
Among Census respondents with the surname Claney, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Claney bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Claney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.0% · 103
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Claney
Claney appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#122,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
-16 bearers (-10.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 16,940 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-29 bearers (-20.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,640 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #105,374 | 157 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | -16 bearers (-10.2%) | Down 16,940 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | -29 bearers (-20.6%) | Down 25,640 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Claney surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #122,314 | #147,954 | -21.0% |
| Count | 141 | 112 | -20.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -25.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Claney bearers went from 141 to 112 (-20.6% change). The surname moved down 25,640 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #147,954.
FAQ
Claney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Claney?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Claney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Claney?
Claney ranks #147,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 112 people with the surname Claney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Claney.
Has Claney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Claney went from 141 recorded bearers to 112. That is a decrease of 29 (-20.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #122,314 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Claney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Claney, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Black (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Claney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.0% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Claney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.0%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Black (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Claney (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Claney mean?
A surname possibly derived from a place name in Ireland. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Claney (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Claney?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.