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

Tunney, 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 Tunney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tunney in America

Tunney is the 17789th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tunney surname appeared 1,574 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 Tunney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tunney 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 Tunney

The surname Tunney has its origins in Ireland, where it emerged in the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word "tonnaidhe," which means "stutterer" or "stammerer." The name likely referred to someone who had a speech impediment or difficulty speaking fluently.

The Tunney surname is most closely associated with County Clare in western Ireland. It appears in various early records and documents from this region, often spelled slightly differently, such as Toney, Tounney, or Tawnay. Some of the earliest records of the name date back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

One notable historical reference to the Tunney name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention a "Tuathal Tonaidhe" (Tuathal the Stutterer) who was a king of the Ui Fiachrach Aidne, a prominent dynasty in what is now County Galway.

The earliest recorded bearer of the Tunney surname seems to be Dermot Toney, who was born around 1580 in County Clare. Another early example is John Tounney, a merchant from Ennis, County Clare, who was active in the late 16th century.

Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the Tunney surname. These include:

1. James Joseph Tunney (1897-1953), an Irish-American boxer who held the world heavyweight championship from 1926 to 1928.
2. Gene Tunney (1897-1978), an American professional boxer and former world heavyweight champion, considered one of the greatest fighters of the 1920s.
3. John Tunney (born 1934), an American politician and former U.S. Senator from California, serving from 1971 to 1977.
4. Thomas Tunney (1861-1944), an Irish-born American businessman and real estate developer in Chicago.
5. John Tunney (1562-1619), an Irish Roman Catholic bishop who served as the Bishop of Killaloe from 1609 until his death.

The Tunney surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Toonagh (derived from "Tón na hAighe," meaning "bottom of the field") and Tuamgraney (from "Tóin Gréine," meaning "sunny bottom"), both located in County Clare.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tunney

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

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

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

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