Sweeney
An Irish surname from the Gaelic personal name Suibhne, later also found in anglicized Mac Sweeney forms.
The #651 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,891 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Sweeney comes from the Irish personal name Suibhne, which was adopted into English spelling in several forms, including Sweeny and Swiney. The older Gaelic name is generally understood to be a personal name rather than a place-name, though 19th-century writers offered differing analyses of its exact root. Some connected it with ideas such as swiftness or nobility, but the precise original sense is not fully secure.
History
The surname is strongly associated with Ireland and especially with Mac Sweeney/MacSwiney family names in Gaelic tradition. It is common in historical Irish records and appears in multiple anglicized spellings across Britain and Ireland. In modern usage, Sweeney survives both as a surname in its own right and as part of longer Mac Sweeney lineages.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In 19th-century Irish surname studies, Sweeney was one of the common Gaelic names frequently listed alongside Mac Sweeney and its many spellings.
From the historical record
“SWEATMAN = Sweetman, q.v, SWEENEY! (Celt.) the Irish Suibhne, prob. SWEENY J for Suidhne—dh mute (cp. Ir. suibhe for suidhe, a session, assize) [Ir. suidh, a hero + the dim. suff, -«e] (occ.) (Eng.) Dweller at (i) the Swine- Meadow [O.E. swin + ge)hteg] (2) the Swine Island or Waterside”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Sweeney
- Sydney Sweeney (b. 1997)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.