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

Cooney, 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 Cooney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cooney in America

Cooney is the 2883rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cooney surname appeared 12,455 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Cooney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cooney 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 Cooney

The surname Cooney is of Irish origin and has been traced back to County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic personal name Cuinneog, which means "little rabbit" or "little hare." This name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who was swift or agile like a rabbit.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Cooney can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Flann Ua Cuinne (Flann O'Cooney) who died in the year 1024. This suggests that the surname was well-established in Ireland by the 11th century.

In the 16th century, the Cooney surname was concentrated in the Baronies of Raphoe and Kilmacrenan in County Donegal. The Plantation of Ulster, which occurred in the early 17th century, saw many Cooney families displaced from their ancestral lands, leading to the spread of the name throughout other parts of Ireland and beyond.

Notable individuals with the surname Cooney include John Cooney (1768-1823), an Irish playwright and poet who wrote several popular plays in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Another prominent figure was Thomas Cooney (1804-1875), an Irish-born American businessman and politician who served as the 12th Mayor of Brooklyn, New York.

In the 19th century, the Cooney surname can be found in various historical records, such as the Griffith's Valuation of Ireland (1848-1864), which was a survey of landholders and property values. One individual listed in this valuation was Patrick Cooney, a landholder in County Donegal.

Other notable individuals with the Cooney surname include William Cooney (1824-1901), an Irish-born American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and Michael Cooney (1847-1922), an Irish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia.

While the surname Cooney is predominantly Irish in origin, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to Irish immigration patterns. However, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Gaelic personal name Cuinneog and its historical stronghold in County Donegal, Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cooney

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

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

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

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