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

Kerney, 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 Kerney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kerney in America

Kerney is the 17472nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kerney surname appeared 1,613 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Kerney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kerney 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 Kerney

The surname Kerney is of Irish origin, tracing its roots back to the ancient Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada in the late 11th century. This Celtic name is derived from the Gaelic word "cairnach," which means "an abounding in cairns or monumental stones." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked with such stone structures.

In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Cearnaigh" or "Cairnach" before evolving into more modern variations like Kerney, Kearney, Carney, and Carnie. The surname was first recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.

One of the earliest documented instances of the name Kerney appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The record mentions a landowner named "Cairnacus" in Oxfordshire, likely a Norman with Irish roots.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the Kerney surname gained prominence in County Sligo, Ireland, where the family held lands and wielded significant influence. Notable figures from this period include Donnchadh Cairnach Ó Dobhailen (1170-1242), a renowned Irish poet and hereditary Chief Ollam of Leinster.

In the 16th century, Edmond Kerney (1516-1569) was a prominent Irish landowner and military leader who fought against English forces during the Tudor conquest of Ireland. His son, Sir Nicholas Kerney (1548-1599), was knighted for his service to Queen Elizabeth I.

Other historical figures bearing the Kerney name include Francis Kerney (1641-1711), an Irish Jacobite soldier who fought for King James II in the Williamite War, and John Kearney (1784-1846), an Irish-American Catholic priest and founder of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

Throughout history, the surname Kerney has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Kearney's Quarter in County Louth and Kearney's Cross in County Sligo. These locations likely derived their names from prominent Kerney families who resided or held lands in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kerney

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

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

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

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