Explore the Family Name Kearney

The meaning of Kearney

Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Catharnaigh ‘descendant of Catharnach’, a personal name meaning ‘warlike’. Alternatively, it may be from Ó Cearnaigh or Mac Cearnaigh (from cearnach ‘victorious’) or from Ó Ceithearnaigh ‘descendant of Ceithearnach’, a personal name meaning ‘foot soldier’. History: Most present-day bearers of this name are descended from Tadhg Ó Catharnaigh, killed in battle in 1084. He was nicknamed An Sionnach ‘the Fox’, and for this reason the Irish surname was sometimes Anglicized as Fox. Denis Kearney, born in Oakmont, Ireland, in 1847, was a US labor movement leader. Some characteristic forenames: Irish Brendan, Seamus, Caitlin, Declan, Dermot, Donovan, Eamonn, Liam.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the Kearney surname has seen slight fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. The rank of the surname went from 1647 to 1730, representing a decrease of about 5.04%, indicating that the name became less prevalent over this period. However, the raw count of individuals with this last name increased by 3.85% from 19,938 in 2000 to 20,706 in 2010. Although more people bore the Kearney name in 2010, its proportion per 100,000 people decreased from 7.39 to 7.02, marking a decline of approximately 5.01%.

20002010Change
Rank#1,647#1,730-5.04%
Count19,93820,7063.85%
Proportion per 100k7.397.02-5.01%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Kearney

In terms of ethnic identity, the Census data reveals some interesting trends for the Kearney surname between 2000 and 2010. People identified as White comprised the majority of those with the Kearney surname, but their percentage dropped slightly from 77.79% to 75.45%. The percentage of those identifying as Black also increased marginally from 18.85% to 19.71%. Notably, there was a significant rise in the Hispanic community holding the Kearney surname, jumping from 1.35% to 2.16%. There were also slight increases in the Asian/Pacific Islander group (from 0.46% to 0.62%) and those who identified with two or more races (from 1.38% to 1.84%). Lastly, the American Indian and Alaskan Native group experienced an increase from 0.17% to 0.22% in the same period.

20002010Change
White77.79%75.45%-3.01%
Black18.85%19.71%4.56%
Hispanic1.35%2.16%60%
Two or More Races1.38%1.84%33.33%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.46%0.62%34.78%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.17%0.22%29.41%

Kearney ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Kearney is British & Irish, which comprises 60.6% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (14.3%) and Eastern European (5.6%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Scandinavian, Nigerian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Ashkenazi Jewish.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish60.6%
French & German14.3%
Eastern European5.6%
Other19.5%
Kearney

Possible origins of the surname Kearney

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Kearney have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater London, United Kingdom85.50%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom85.50%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom85.50%
Merseyside, United Kingdom85.10%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom84.70%

What Kearney haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Kearney is R-M222, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-M222 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-S660 and R-L21, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Carney, Flanagan, Kelly, Murray, Larkin, Neal, O'Connor, Connor, Dillon, Kenney.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Kearney surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

kearneyPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Niall of the Nine Hostages

The spread of haplogroup R-M222 in northern Ireland and Scotland was likely aided by men like Niall of the Nine Hostages. Perhaps more myth than man, Niall is said to have been a King of Tara in northwestern Ireland in the late 4th century C.E. His name comes from a tale of nine hostages that he held from the regions he ruled over. Though the legendary stories of his life may have been invented hundreds of years after he died, genetic evidence suggests that the Uí Néill dynasty, whose name means "descendants of Niall," did in fact trace back to just one man who likely bore haplogroup R-M222, a branch of R-M269.The Uí Néill ruled to various degrees as kings of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century C.E. In the highly patriarchal society of medieval Ireland, their status allowed them to have outsized numbers of children and spread their paternal lineage each generation. In fact, researchers have estimated that between 2 and 3 million men with roots in north-west Ireland are paternal-line descendants of Niall.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Kearney have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Kearney

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Kearney" Surname 35.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Kearney

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Kearney" Surname 25.9%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Kearney

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Kearney" Surname 17.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Kearney

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Kearney" Surname 18.6%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Kearney?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Kearney are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%