Explore the Family Name Clune

The meaning of Clune

Irish (Clare): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Glúin, a patronymic from the personal name Glún. This is either a byname meaning ‘knee’, or else a short form of various Old Irish compound personal names such as Glúnfhionn meaning ‘fair-kneed’ or Glúniairn ‘iron-kneed’. Some characteristic forenames: Irish Conor, Seamus.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Clune in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the Clune surname has experienced a slight increase in popularity. In 2000, it held the rank of 19,343 amongst all surnames but moved up slightly to 19,306 in 2010. Although the change is modest at 0.19 percent, it does indicate a small growth in the number of individuals carrying this surname. The actual count of people with the Clune surname also increased by 8.18 percent from 1,296 in 2000 to 1,402 in 2010. Despite these changes, the proportion per 100,000 people remained constant at 0.48.

20002010Change
Rank#19,343#19,3060.19%
Count1,2961,4028.18%
Proportion per 100k0.480.480%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Clune

Regarding ethnic identity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the vast majority of individuals with the Clune surname identify as White. This group made up 96.45 percent of the Clune population in 2000 and grew slightly to 96.58 percent in 2010. The percentage of Clunes identifying as Hispanic saw a notable increase of 39.02 percent, moving from 1.23 percent in 2000 to 1.71 percent in 2010. Conversely, the portion of Black individuals with the Clune surname declined by 53.70 percent, from 1.08 percent in 2000 to 0.50 percent in 2010. The number of Clunes identifying with two or more races also decreased by 32.94 percent during the same period, while counts for Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native were not recorded.

20002010Change
White96.45%96.58%0.13%
Hispanic1.23%1.71%39.02%
Two or More Races0.85%0.57%-32.94%
Black1.08%0.5%-53.7%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%