2000
#26,924
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 848
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.31
Rare Last name
Freeney
A surname derived from the Old English word "freomann," meaning a free man or freeman.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,054 Americans carry the last name Freeney. That puts it at #27,762 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 325,194 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Freeney 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.
Bearers in the US
1.1K
1 in 325,194
Census rank
#27,762
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
919
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 919 bearers of the surname Freeney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27762nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Freeney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Freeney
The surname FREENEY originated in Ireland, with its earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Gaelic word "fraoigh," meaning "heather." This suggests that the name may have originally been a descriptive one, referring to someone who lived near or worked with heather plants.
The FREENEY surname is most commonly associated with County Tipperary in Ireland, where it is believed to have first emerged. However, it has also been found in other parts of the country, including County Cork and County Limerick. The name has gone through various spellings over the centuries, including Franey, Frehney, and Frahney.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the FREENEY name can be found in the Fiants of the Reign of Elizabeth I, where a Patrick Freeney is mentioned in connection with a land grant in County Tipperary in the late 16th century. This suggests that the FREENEY family may have had a presence in the area at that time.
In the 17th century, the FREENEY surname appears in the records of the Irish Rebellion of 1641, where several individuals bearing the name are listed as participants or victims of the conflict. This provides further evidence of the surname's presence in Ireland during this period.
Notable individuals with the FREENEY surname throughout history include:
1. Edmond Freeney (c. 1670-1745), an Irish Catholic landowner and member of the Parliament of Ireland.
2. John Freeney (1782-1856), an Irish-born soldier who served in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
3. Michael Freeney (1845-1912), an Irish-American politician who served as the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, from 1892 to 1896.
4. Bridget Freeney (1873-1957), an Irish immigrant to the United States and labor activist involved in the garment workers' unions in New York City.
5. Dwight Freeney (born 1980), an American professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Indianapolis Colts and other teams.
While the FREENEY surname is still found in Ireland today, it has also been carried by descendants of Irish emigrants to various other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Freeney
Among Census respondents with the surname Freeney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Freeney 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 Freeney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.8% · 715
- White11.8% · 108
- Two or more races5.7% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Freeney
Freeney 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
#26,229
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 932
+84 bearers (+9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Up 695 places
2020
#27,762
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 919
-13 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 1,533 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #26,924 | 848 | 0.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,229 | 932 | 0.32 | +84 bearers (+9.9%) | Up 695 places |
| 2020 | #27,762 | 919 | 0.31 | -13 bearers (-1.4%) | Down 1,533 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 Freeney 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 | #26,229 | #27,762 | -5.8% |
| Count | 932 | 919 | -1.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.32 | 0.31 | -3.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Freeney bearers went from 932 to 919 (-1.4% change). The surname moved down 1,533 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,229 to #27,762.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Freeney
FAQ
Freeney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Freeney?
Name Census estimates that about 1,054 living Americans carry the surname Freeney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 325,194 residents.
How common is Freeney?
Freeney ranks #27,762 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 919 people with the surname Freeney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,054), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.31 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Freeney.
Has Freeney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Freeney went from 932 recorded bearers to 919. That is a decrease of 13 (-1.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #26,229 to #27,762.
What does the Census say about the background of Freeney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Freeney, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.8%. The next largest groups are White (11.8%) and Two or More Races (5.7%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Freeney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.8% (715 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Freeney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (77.8%), White (11.8%), Two or More Races (5.7%). 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 Freeney (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 Freeney mean?
A surname derived from the Old English word "freomann," meaning a free man or freeman. 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 Freeney (0.31 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 share the surname Freeney?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.