2000
#26,672
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 859
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.32
Very Rare Last name
Craney
An English surname derived from a town name, likely meaning "one from Craney".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 961 Americans carry the last name Craney. That puts it at #29,943 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 356,664 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Craney 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 Craney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
961
1 in 356,664
Census rank
#29,943
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
838
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 838 bearers of the surname Craney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29943rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Craney, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Craney
The surname Craney is believed to have originated in Ireland. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic word "crannach" which means a wooded place or a place of trees. The earliest recorded examples of the name date back to the 16th century in County Mayo, Ireland.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Craney surname was John Craney, born in 1582 in Westport, County Mayo. He was a farmer and landowner who is mentioned in local records from the time. Another early bearer was Patrick Craney, born in 1612 in Belmullet, County Mayo, who worked as a fisherman.
The Craney surname is also found in some historical records from County Sligo, Ireland. For instance, there is a reference to a Michael Craney, born in 1675 in Ballymote, County Sligo, who was a blacksmith by trade.
In the 18th century, the Craney name appeared in the Hearth Money Rolls, which were tax records from the time. One entry from 1767 lists a Thomas Craney from County Mayo who was a tenant farmer.
Several notable individuals have borne the Craney surname throughout history. One example is John Craney (1801-1870), who was an Irish politician and member of the British Parliament for County Mayo in the mid-19th century. Another is Michael Craney (1832-1901), an Irish-born American soldier who fought in the American Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for his bravery.
Other individuals with the Craney surname include William Craney (1859-1927), an Irish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, and Mary Craney (1887-1964), an Irish novelist and playwright who wrote several works in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Craney
Among Census respondents with the surname Craney, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Craney 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 Craney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.4% · 632
- Black or African American15.0% · 126
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 42
- Two or more races3.5% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Craney
Craney 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
#21,260
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,233
+374 bearers (+43.5%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Up 5,412 places
2020
#29,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 838
-395 bearers (-32.0%)
Per 100,000 0.28
Rank movement Down 8,683 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #26,672 | 859 | 0.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,260 | 1,233 | 0.42 | +374 bearers (+43.5%) | Up 5,412 places |
| 2020 | #29,943 | 838 | 0.28 | -395 bearers (-32.0%) | Down 8,683 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 Craney 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 | #21,260 | #29,943 | -40.8% |
| Count | 1,233 | 838 | -32.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.28 | -33.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Craney bearers went from 1,233 to 838 (-32.0% change). The surname moved down 8,683 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,260 to #29,943.
FAQ
Craney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Craney?
Name Census estimates that about 961 living Americans carry the surname Craney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 356,664 residents.
How common is Craney?
Craney ranks #29,943 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.28 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 838 people with the surname Craney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (961), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.28 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 Craney.
Has Craney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Craney went from 1,233 recorded bearers to 838. That is a decrease of 395 (-32.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,260 to #29,943.
What does the Census say about the background of Craney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Craney, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (15.0%) and Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Craney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (632 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Craney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.4%), Black (15.0%), Hispanic (5.0%). 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 Craney (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 Craney mean?
An English surname derived from a town name, likely meaning "one from Craney". 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 Craney (0.28 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 Craney?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.