2000
#18,364
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,391
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Tunney
A surname derived from the Irish Gaelic word "tuinnidhe" meaning a wave or billow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,508 Americans carry the last name Tunney. That puts it at #20,413 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 227,291 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Tunney 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 Tunney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 227,291
Census rank
#20,413
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,315 bearers of the surname Tunney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20413th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Tunney, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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One notable historical reference to the Tunney name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Tunney
Among Census respondents with the surname Tunney, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Tunney 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 Tunney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 1,109
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.2% · 69
- Two or more races4.9% · 64
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 31
- Black or African American2.1% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Tunney
Tunney 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
#17,789
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,574
+183 bearers (+13.2%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Up 575 places
2020
#20,413
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,315
-259 bearers (-16.5%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 2,624 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,364 | 1,391 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,789 | 1,574 | 0.53 | +183 bearers (+13.2%) | Up 575 places |
| 2020 | #20,413 | 1,315 | 0.44 | -259 bearers (-16.5%) | Down 2,624 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 Tunney 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 | #17,789 | #20,413 | -14.8% |
| Count | 1,574 | 1,315 | -16.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.53 | 0.44 | -17.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Tunney bearers went from 1,574 to 1,315 (-16.5% change). The surname moved down 2,624 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,789 to #20,413.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Tunney
FAQ
Tunney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Tunney?
Name Census estimates that about 1,508 living Americans carry the surname Tunney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 227,291 residents.
How common is Tunney?
Tunney ranks #20,413 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 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 1,315 people with the surname Tunney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,508), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 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 Tunney.
Has Tunney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Tunney went from 1,574 recorded bearers to 1,315. That is a decrease of 259 (-16.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,789 to #20,413.
What does the Census say about the background of Tunney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Tunney, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tunney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (1,109 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Tunney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Tunney (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 Tunney mean?
A surname derived from the Irish Gaelic word "tuinnidhe" meaning a wave or billow. 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 Tunney (0.44 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 Tunney?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Tunney is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.