2000
#976
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,644
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.10
Uncommon Last name
Haney
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEánaigh, meaning "descendant of Éanach," a personal name derived from a diminutive of éan, meaning "bird."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 36,098 Americans carry the last name Haney. That puts it at #1,094 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,495 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Haney 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 Haney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
36K
1 in 9,495
Census rank
#1,094
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,479 bearers of the surname Haney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1094th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Haney, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Haney
The surname Haney originated in England and Scotland in the late medieval period. It is believed to be a locational name derived from the Old English word "hana," meaning "a rocky hill," or from a place called Hane in Essex, England.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century. In the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire, from the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307), there is a mention of a Richard de Hana. The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1379 also reference a John de Haneye.
In Scotland, the name appeared in various forms, such as Hany, Haynie, and Hainey. One of the earliest recorded Scottish bearers of the name was John Hany, who was a tenant in the lands of Duddingston, near Edinburgh, in 1376.
The Haney surname is also linked to several place names in England, such as Hanney in Berkshire and Hanny in Worcestershire. These place names likely originated from the Old English words "hana" or "hana-ieg," meaning "a rocky island or dry ground in marsh."
Notable individuals with the surname Haney throughout history include:
1. John Haney (c. 1511-1584), an English Protestant minister and a translator of the Geneva Bible.
2. Sir Edward Haney (1580-1661), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the 17th century.
3. William Haney (1747-1819), an American Revolutionary War soldier and early settler in Kentucky.
4. James Haney (1786-1856), an Irish-born American politician who served as the 6th Governor of Delaware from 1837 to 1841.
5. John Louis Haney (1864-1940), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Haney Seed Company in San Francisco.
While these are just a few examples, the Haney surname has a rich history that can be traced back to various regions of England and Scotland, with its origins rooted in locational names and place names from the medieval era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Haney
Among Census respondents with the surname Haney, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Haney 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 Haney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.1% · 26,467
- Black or African American7.3% · 2,298
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,314
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 934
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 268
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 198
Timeline
Historical Census data for Haney
Haney 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
#1,027
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,898
+1,254 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 11.49
Rank movement Down 51 places
2020
#1,094
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,479
-2,419 bearers (-7.1%)
Per 100,000 10.53
Rank movement Down 67 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #976 | 32,644 | 12.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,027 | 33,898 | 11.49 | +1,254 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 51 places |
| 2020 | #1,094 | 31,479 | 10.53 | -2,419 bearers (-7.1%) | Down 67 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 Haney 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 | #1,027 | #1,094 | -6.5% |
| Count | 33,898 | 31,479 | -7.1% |
| Per 100K | 11.49 | 10.53 | -8.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Haney bearers went from 33,898 to 31,479 (-7.1% change). The surname moved down 67 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,027 to #1,094.
FAQ
Haney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Haney?
Name Census estimates that about 36,098 living Americans carry the surname Haney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,495 residents.
How common is Haney?
Haney ranks #1,094 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,479 people with the surname Haney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (36,098), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Haney.
Has Haney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Haney went from 33,898 recorded bearers to 31,479. That is a decrease of 2,419 (-7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,027 to #1,094.
What does the Census say about the background of Haney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Haney, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.1%. The next largest groups are Black (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Haney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.1% (26,467 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Haney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.1%), Black (7.3%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Haney (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 Haney mean?
Anglicized form of Irish Ó hEánaigh, meaning "descendant of Éanach," a personal name derived from a diminutive of éan, meaning "bird." 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 Haney (10.53 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 last name Haney?
See how many people have the last name Haney on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.