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

Furney, 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 Furney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Furney in America

Furney is the 31724th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Furney surname appeared 728 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 Furney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Furney 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 Furney

The surname Furney originated in Scotland during the late medieval period. It is derived from the Old Gaelic words "foir" meaning "leader" and "naidh" meaning "born", suggesting it may have referred to the firstborn son of a chieftain or landowner. The earliest recorded spelling was Fournay, found in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland in 1296.

The name is also associated with the lands of Fournays in Angus, Scotland, where a family of this name held estates from the 13th century onward. Records show a William de Fournays witnessed a charter by King David II in 1364. By the 15th century, the spelling had evolved to the modern Furney.

One of the earliest documented individuals with this surname was John Furney, a merchant and burgess of Aberdeen in the late 1400s. He is mentioned in the Burgh Records of Aberdeen in 1487. Another early bearer was Robert Furney, a notary public in Edinburgh whose name appears in the Protocol Book of John Foular in 1515.

During the 16th century, the Furneys were an influential family in the Scottish Borders region. Prominent members included William Furney (c.1520-1585), a landowner and Justice of the Peace in Roxburghshire, and his son James Furney (1558-1632), a lawyer and Clerk of the Privy Council.

In the 17th century, John Furney (1620-1687) was a Church of Scotland minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1677. He played a role in the religious conflicts of the era. Another notable figure was Alexander Furney (1638-1701), a merchant and Baillie (municipal officer) in Glasgow.

The surname also has a long history in Ireland, likely introduced by Scottish settlers. Examples include Robert Furney (1755-1831), an Irish politician who represented County Westmeath in the Irish Parliament, and Francis Furney (1807-1876), a Catholic priest and writer on Irish history from County Louth.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Furney

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

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

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

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