2000
#2,728
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,136
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.50
Uncommon Last name
Cooney
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Cuana, meaning "descendant of Cuana," a personal name of unknown meaning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,755 Americans carry the last name Cooney. That puts it at #2,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,919 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cooney 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 Cooney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,919
Census rank
#2,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,995 bearers of the surname Cooney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cooney, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cooney
The surname Cooney is of Irish origin and has been traced back to County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic personal name Cuinneog, which means "little rabbit" or "little hare." This name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who was swift or agile like a rabbit.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Cooney can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Flann Ua Cuinne (Flann O'Cooney) who died in the year 1024. This suggests that the surname was well-established in Ireland by the 11th century.
In the 16th century, the Cooney surname was concentrated in the Baronies of Raphoe and Kilmacrenan in County Donegal. The Plantation of Ulster, which occurred in the early 17th century, saw many Cooney families displaced from their ancestral lands, leading to the spread of the name throughout other parts of Ireland and beyond.
Notable individuals with the surname Cooney include John Cooney (1768-1823), an Irish playwright and poet who wrote several popular plays in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Another prominent figure was Thomas Cooney (1804-1875), an Irish-born American businessman and politician who served as the 12th Mayor of Brooklyn, New York.
In the 19th century, the Cooney surname can be found in various historical records, such as the Griffith's Valuation of Ireland (1848-1864), which was a survey of landholders and property values. One individual listed in this valuation was Patrick Cooney, a landholder in County Donegal.
Other notable individuals with the Cooney surname include William Cooney (1824-1901), an Irish-born American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and Michael Cooney (1847-1922), an Irish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia.
While the surname Cooney is predominantly Irish in origin, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to Irish immigration patterns. However, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Gaelic personal name Cuinneog and its historical stronghold in County Donegal, Ireland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cooney
Among Census respondents with the surname Cooney, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cooney 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 Cooney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 10,772
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 404
- Two or more races2.9% · 345
- Black or African American2.8% · 339
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cooney
Cooney 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
#2,883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,455
+319 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 4.22
Rank movement Down 155 places
2020
#2,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,995
-460 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 4.01
Rank movement Down 52 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,728 | 12,136 | 4.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,883 | 12,455 | 4.22 | +319 bearers (+2.6%) | Down 155 places |
| 2020 | #2,935 | 11,995 | 4.01 | -460 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 52 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 Cooney 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 | #2,883 | #2,935 | -1.8% |
| Count | 12,455 | 11,995 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.22 | 4.01 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cooney bearers went from 12,455 to 11,995 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 52 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,883 to #2,935.
FAQ
Cooney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cooney?
Name Census estimates that about 13,755 living Americans carry the surname Cooney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,919 residents.
How common is Cooney?
Cooney ranks #2,935 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,995 people with the surname Cooney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,755), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Cooney.
Has Cooney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cooney went from 12,455 recorded bearers to 11,995. That is a decrease of 460 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,883 to #2,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Cooney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cooney, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Cooney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (10,772 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cooney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Cooney (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 Cooney mean?
Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Cuana, meaning "descendant of Cuana," a personal name of unknown meaning. 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 Cooney (4.01 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 common is the surname Cooney?
Want to know how many people are called Cooney? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.