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    The surname Downey

    A Scottish Gaelic patronymic surname, carried by 26,627 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈdaʊni/ 2 syllables Soundex D500

    Downey: #1,320 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Downey #1,320, 26,627 people Downey: #1,320 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Downey #1,320, 26,627 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Downey is more common than 99.2% of them.

    Origin

    Scottish Gaelic origin

    Various origins: * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dúnadhaigh (“descendant of Dúnadhach”), a personal name which derives from a diminutive form of dúnadh (“closing, securing, fastening”). * Irish surname from a reduced form of McEldowney or Muldowney. * Scottish habitational surname from the barony of Downie or Duny, named from Scottish Gaelic dùn (“hill”) + the locative suffix -ach.

    Downey is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    One of 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames on this site.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 26,627 people named Downey in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 11,595 Americans. That is up 1.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 26,206.

    #1,320
    rank among US surnames
    26,627
    people in 2010
    9.0
    per 100,000 Americans
    +1.6%
    change since 2000 (was #1,225)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #1,311Bowling26,76211,537
    #1,312Burris26,76011,538
    #1,313Whitley26,73211,550
    #1,314Hamm26,72611,552
    #1,315Bland26,72211,554
    #1,316Bermudez26,69111,567
    #1,317Stinson26,68111,572

    Who is named Downey

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

    88% of people named Downey identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.2% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 88%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 6.2%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 1.6%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Downeys

    10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Robert Downey Jr.
      American actor (born 1965)
    • Robert Downey Sr.
      American filmmaker and actor (1936–2021)
    • Susan Downey
      American film producer, born 1973
    • Sheridan Downey
      American politician (1884–1961)
    • Ray Downey
      Boxer, born 1968
    • Jim Downey
      American actor and comedian, born 1952
    • Morton Downey
      American singer and entertainer (1901–1985)
    • June Downey
      American psychologist (1875-1932)
    • Morton Downey Jr.
      American television talk show host (1932–2001)
    • Margaret Downey
      Atheist activist, born 1950

    Notable Downeys come mostly from the United States (9) and Canada (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Downey

    Downey has the Soundex code D500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D500.

    Other Scottish Gaelic surnames

    All 277 Scottish Gaelic surnames

    Questions

    Where does the surname Downey come from?
    Various origins: * Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dúnadhaigh (“descendant of Dúnadhach”), a personal name which derives from a diminutive form of dúnadh (“closing, securing, fastening”). * Irish surname from a reduced form of McEldowney or Muldowney. * Scottish habitational surname from the…
    How common is the surname Downey?
    26,627 people in the United States had the surname Downey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,595 Americans. It ranked 1,320th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Downey?
    In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Downey identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.2% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Downey?
    Robert Downey Jr., American actor (born 1965), followed by Robert Downey Sr..
    Where is the surname Downey most common?
    Wikidata records people named Downey in the United States and Canada.
    How do you pronounce Downey?
    Downey is /ˈdaʊni/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Downey?
    Downey is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Downey getting more or less common?
    More common. 26,206 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 26,627 in 2010, up 1.6%.