Explore the Family Name Heenan

The meaning of Heenan

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hEidhneáin, ‘descendant of Eidhneán’, a personal name meaning ‘little one of the ivy’, or else a shortened form of Ó hEidhneacháin (see Hennigan). Since the variant Ó hÉanáin, like Ó hÉanna, appears to contain the Irish word éan ‘bird’, both surnames have sometimes become Bird by folk translation (see Heaney).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Heenan ranked 14,706 in popularity in 2000 and slightly decreased to rank 14,995 in 2010, a change of -1.97%. The count of individuals with this surname increased from 1,853 in 2000 to 1,970 in 2010, marking a growth rate of 6.31%. However, the proportion per 100k people fell slightly from 0.69 in 2000 to 0.67 in 2010, a decrease of 2.9%.

20002010Change
Rank#14,706#14,995-1.97%
Count1,8531,9706.31%
Proportion per 100k0.690.67-2.9%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Heenan

Examining the ethnic identity linked to the surname Heenan as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, the majority identify as White, although this category saw a small decrease from 96.17% in 2000 down to 93.05% in 2010. The second most common ethnicity, Asian/Pacific Islander, saw an increase from 0.49% to 0.86%, an impressive growth of 75.51%. Similarly, those identifying with two or more races rose from 1.40% to 1.73%. The Hispanic demographic also saw significant growth, rising from 1.24% to 3.45%, a remarkable increase of 178.23%. Finally, the categories Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native were not represented in the 2000 Census for the Heenan surname but emerged in the 2010 data, accounting for 0.56% and 0.36% respectively.

20002010Change
White96.17%93.05%-3.24%
Hispanic1.24%3.45%178.23%
Two or More Races1.4%1.73%23.57%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.49%0.86%75.51%
Black0%0.56%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0.36%0%