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

Devinney, 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 Devinney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Devinney in America

Devinney is the 19348th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Devinney surname appeared 1,398 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 Devinney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Devinney 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 Devinney

The surname DEVINNEY originated in Ireland, with its roots tracing back to the 16th century. It is a variant of the Irish Gaelic name Ó Daimhín, which means "descendant of Daimhín." Daimhín was a personal name derived from the Irish word "damh," meaning "an ox" or "a stag."

The DEVINNEY name is believed to have emerged in County Donegal, located in the northern part of Ireland. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Fiants of the 16th century, which were records of official documents issued by the English administration in Ireland during that period.

One notable historical figure bearing the DEVINNEY surname was Captain Edward Devinney, who served in the Irish Brigade of the French Army during the 18th century. He was born in County Donegal in 1720 and died in France in 1789.

Another prominent individual was John Devinney, a Scottish merchant and shipowner who lived in the 17th century. He was born in Greenock, Scotland, in 1632 and passed away in 1697. Devinney was involved in the shipping trade between Scotland and Ireland, and his name can be found in various shipping records from that era.

In the 19th century, the DEVINNEY name gained recognition through the accomplishments of Michael Devinney, an Irish-American politician. Born in County Donegal in 1823, he immigrated to the United States and became involved in politics in New York City. He served as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1872 to 1875.

The name DEVINNEY has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, particularly in County Donegal. For instance, there is a townland called Devinney in the parish of Inver, which likely derived its name from the DEVINNEY family who resided there.

Throughout history, variations in the spelling of the DEVINNEY surname have been observed, including Deviney, Devenny, and Devany. These variations often reflect regional dialects or the adaptation of the name by scribes and record keepers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Devinney

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

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

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

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