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

Devany, 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 Devany surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Devany in America

Devany is the 65593rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Devany surname appeared 302 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Devany.

We can also compare 2010 data for Devany 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 Devany

The surname DEVANY originates from the Gaelic Irish name O'Daimhin, which means "descendent of the stout or dense one." It is believed to have first appeared in County Leitrim, Ireland, in the 12th century.

The earliest recorded mention of the name DEVANY can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, dating back to the year 1187. The name is spelled "O'Daimhin" in this ancient text.

By the 16th century, variations of the spelling had emerged, including Devany, Devaney, and Devenny. These spellings reflected the anglicization of the original Irish Gaelic name as it became more widespread across Ireland.

The Hearth Money Rolls, a tax record from the late 17th century, lists several families with the surname DEVANY in counties Leitrim, Cavan, and Longford, suggesting these areas were strongholds for the name during this period.

Notably, the Devany name has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest was Tadhg O'Daimhin (1575-1647), an Irish Catholic priest and historian who wrote a chronicle of the Irish Confederate Wars.

Another prominent bearer of the name was James Devany (1808-1878), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, from 1868 to 1869.

In the 19th century, Michael Devany (1823-1892) was a renowned Irish-American Catholic priest and educator who founded several schools and colleges in the United States.

The name DEVANY has also been connected to various place names in Ireland, such as Devany's Cross, a townland in County Leitrim, and Devany's Bridge, a location in County Mayo.

Additionally, the surname DEVANY has been linked to the Gaelic word "damh," meaning "ox" or "stag," suggesting the name may have originally referred to someone with a strong or robust stature.

Other notable individuals with the surname DEVANY include John Devany (1857-1936), an Irish-American labor leader and politician, and Eamon Devany (1907-1976), an Irish Garda Síochána (police) officer and politician.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Devany

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

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

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

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