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

Franey, 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 Franey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Franey in America

Franey is the 23333rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Franey surname appeared 1,091 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 Franey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Franey 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 Franey

The surname Franey is believed to have originated in Ireland, likely in the 17th or 18th century. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Frainigh," which means "descendant of Frainch." The name Frainch is a variant of the Norman French name "Francis" or "Francois."

The earliest recorded instances of the name Franey can be found in various Irish parish records and census documents from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was predominantly concentrated in the counties of Cork, Kerry, and Limerick in the southern part of Ireland.

There are also references to the Franey surname in historical records, such as the Petty's Census of Ireland from the mid-17th century, where it is spelled as "Freeny" or "Freeney." These variations were common due to the anglicization of Irish names during that period.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Franey was Patrick Franey, who was born in County Cork in the late 18th century. He served as a soldier in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars and fought in several major battles.

Another notable figure was Michael Franey (1804-1878), a prominent Irish nationalist and journalist from County Kerry. He was an advocate for Irish independence and wrote extensively for various publications, including The Nation newspaper.

In the 19th century, the Franey surname also appeared in the United States, as many Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine sought new opportunities in America. One such individual was James Franey (1832-1906), who settled in Boston and became a successful businessman and philanthropist.

Other notable individuals with the Franey surname include:

1. John Franey (1859-1939), an Irish-American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
2. Mary Franey (1870-1947), an Irish-born educator and suffragette who campaigned for women's rights in the United States.
3. Michael Franey (1922-1997), an American author and journalist best known for his culinary writings and cookbooks.
4. Eugene Franey (1924-2010), a French-born American chef and television personality who hosted several cooking shows on PBS.
5. John P. Franey (born 1950), an American lawyer and judge who served as a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Franey

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!