Surname Hurney - Meaning and Origin
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Hurney: What does the surname Hurney mean?
The last name Hurney originally has Irish roots, though it has now spread to other countries. The most common origin of the name Hurney is from a Gaelic surname, ‘Ó hUrmhoire’, which translates to English as ‘descendant of Urmhoire’.
The name Urmhoire itself is derived from a personal name meaning 'rich protector', which is thought to be in reference to an ancestor who was a protector of wealth or an important person in the local community.
The Hurney name has been used in Ireland since at least the 17th century, and first appeared in Ireland outside of Ulster in the late 1800s. By the time of the 1901-1911 census in Ireland, the name had spread to countries in America, Canada and the UK, especially England and Wales, where it is still most commonly found today.
As with many Irish surnames, the Hurney name has taken on a variety of spellings and pronunciation over the years, including Horne, Urney, Ourney and Horney.
Overall, the last name Hurney is a unique and special name, embodying the proud heritage of its Irish ancestors. It is a reminder of how much has changed in the world, but how family and culture still remain constant.
Order DNA origin analysisHurney: Where does the name Hurney come from?
The last name Hurney is most common in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and countries with significant Irish ancestry. The name is also popular in the United States, especially in states with significant Irish populations like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin. It is believed to be of Irish origin, and the most ancient known lineage of Hurney in Ireland traces back to the southwestern region of County Limerick.
The modern spelling of the name first appeared in the sixteenth century, with its original written form being 'O'Hurney. Over time, this changed to O'Horney and further adaptations such as Horney and the current spelling of Hurney.
In Ireland, the surname is most common in Dublin and the surrounding counties of Leinster. Among the U.S. states, it is most prevalent in Massachusetts, where there are about 876 people with the last name. They tend to be concentrated in the Greater Boston area where there are over 400 people with Hurney as their last name.
The most prominent people with the name include Joe Hurney, former general manager of the Carolina Panthers, and Kathleen Hurney, an Irish peace activist.
Variations of the surname Hurney
The surname Hurney is an Irish surname that is derived from the Gaelic surname ÓhAherna. It is an anglicised form of two separate Irish surnames, Ó Hearna and Ó h-Earna, meaning "descendant of Earna". Variants of this surname include Hurley, Hearney, Hearni, Hurni, Herney, Hurani, Hourni, and Hearne. Alternate spellings include Hearn, Hearne, Hearnay, Hurney, Hearrney, and Hearn. Various other surnames are derived from the same origin such as Hearon, Herron, and Herran.
In Irish culture, the form of the surname can be influenced by the deceased patriarch, which is why there are so many different variations of the same surname. For example, a man named Edward Hearne may have had sons called Edward Hearney and John Hearni, hence the two separate surnames.
Hurney is mainly a Cork surname, and other variations are found throughout Ireland and the UK. It is especially concentrated in counties Cork, Dublin, Wicklow, Galway, Kerry, and Limerick, though it is also found in England, Newfoundland, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.
The common thread in all of these variants lies in the second half of the old Gaelic name hearna, which derives from the Irish word for eagle, iarann. Therefore, the original bearer of the surname was likely someone related to, or descendant of an eagle.
Famous people with the name Hurney
- Mark Hurney: professional golfer
- Bill Hurney: former professional NFL football scout
- Margaret Hurney: Irish-American portrait and landscape painter
- R. Sean Hurney: author, professor, and expert on enterprise security
- Henry Hurney: former Detroit Tigers player
- Chris Hurney: former president and CEO of Harpo Productions
- Tom Hurney: former Chicago Bears general manager
- Joe Hurney: former general manager of the Carolina Panthers
- Mary Hurney: stage actress, singer, radio performer, and vaudeville star
- Thomas Hurney: former professional stunt motorcycle rider