Feeney
An Irish surname, most often understood as a form of Ó Fionnáin or a related Gaelic name, with a strong concentration in western Ireland.
The #3,740 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,592 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Feeney is an Anglicized Irish surname. The historical sources group it with Irish forms written in Gaelic script, and the usual explanation is that it represents Ó Fionnáin or a closely related Irish family name built on the diminutive of a personal name from fionn, meaning “fair” or “white.” In older records it can also appear alongside spellings such as Feeny, Finney, and Finny, reflecting the difficulty of rendering Irish sounds in English spelling.
History
The name is recorded as especially common in Connacht, particularly in counties such as Sligo, Mayo, and Galway. Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname studies place Feeney among the better-known Irish surnames in those regions. Variant spellings were common in both civil and church records, so the same family line may appear under more than one form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early Irish surname collectors noted Feeney as one of the recurring western Irish names, and its spelling often shifted simply because English clerks tried to capture Gaelic sounds in different ways.
From the historical record
“Feeney. See Finney Feetham, Feetum. A loc. n., Yorks Felce. A.S. Wselisc (?) ; Dch. Fels, Velse; G. Felsch ; p.n. Felles,”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)