How common is the surname Carney?

32,897 people in the United States had the surname Carney in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,385 Americans. It ranked 1,066th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Carney?

Mark Carney, 24th prime minister of Canada since 2025, followed by Art Carney.

Where is the surname Carney most common?

Wikidata records people named Carney in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Is the surname Carney getting more or less common?

More common. 32,282 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 32,897 in 2010, up 1.9%.

Is Carney also a first name?

Yes. Carney is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Carney

An Irish surname, carried by 32,897 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex C650

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Carney is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

* (carcinogenic disorder): Named after American pathologist John Aidan Carney

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 32,897 people named Carney in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,385 Americans. That is up 1.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 32,282.

#1,066

rank among US surnames

32,897

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+1.9%

change since 2000 (was #984)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,057	Delaney	33,218	9,295
#1,059	Chaney	33,201	9,299
#1,060	Kidd	33,186	9,303
#1,061	Velasco	33,078	9,334
#1,062	Ngo	33,005	9,355
#1,063	Cheng	32,982	9,361
#1,064	Newell	32,909	9,382

Who is named Carney

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

85% of people named Carney identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.8% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 8.8%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
Two or more races 1.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Carneys

16 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Mark Carney
24th prime minister of Canada since 2025
Art Carney
American actor and comedian (1918–2003)
David Carney
Australian association football player, born 1983
Patrick Carney
American drummer, born 1980
Reeve Carney
American singer-songwriter and actor, born 1983
Harry Carney
American jazz musician (1910–1974)
Lester Carney
American sprinter, born 1934
Rodney Carney
American basketball player (born 1984)
Keith Carney
American ice hockey player, born 1970
Chris Carney
American politician, born 1959
Thomas Carney
American politician (1824-1888)
Alan Carney
American actor (1909-1973)

Notable Carneys come mostly from the United States (13), Canada (1) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Carney

Carney has the Soundex code C650, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C650.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Carney come from?: * (carcinogenic disorder): Named after American pathologist John Aidan Carney
How common is the surname Carney?: 32,897 people in the United States had the surname Carney in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,385 Americans. It ranked 1,066th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Carney?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Carney identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.8% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Carney?: Mark Carney, 24th prime minister of Canada since 2025, followed by Art Carney.
Where is the surname Carney most common?: Wikidata records people named Carney in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Is the surname Carney getting more or less common?: More common. 32,282 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 32,897 in 2010, up 1.9%.
Is Carney also a first name?: Yes. Carney is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.