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Carney History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Carney History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The Irish name Carney has a long Gaelic heritage to its credit. Generally, the original Gaelic form of the name Carney is said to be Ó Cearnaigh, from the word "cearnach," which means "victorious." 1 However, in some instances, especially the roots of the present day spelling of Kearney, the surname derives from the Gaelic name "Ó Catharnaigh," meaning "warlike."

Early Origins of the Carney family

The surname Carney was first found in County Mayo (Irish: Maigh Eo) located on the West coast of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Connacht, where they held a family seat from ancient times and were a branch of the Ui Fiachrach.

The MacCarney (McCarney) variant is "Mac Cearnaigh and the family was originally seated at Ballymacarney, Co. Meath. According to records from the sixteenth century to the present day it must be regarded as belonging to Ulster: in the Fiants we find a MacCarney among the followers of Rory O'Donnell; in the Hearth Money Rolls of the l660's the name appears frequently in Cos. Monaghan and Armagh; and comparatively recent sources indicate that they are still mainly located in that part of Ulster. It would appear, however, that the prefix Mac has been widely dropped, the name being now registered as Carney or Kearney. Probably the most remarkable person of this name was Susan MacKarney who died in Dublin in 1751 reputedly 120 years of age. She was a beggarwoman who had £250 secreted in the mattress of her death bed." 2

Early History of the Carney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Carney research. Another 230 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1199, 1529, 1539, 1543 and 1721 are included under the topic Early Carney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Carney Spelling Variations

Those scribes in Ireland during the Middle Ages recorded names as they sounded. Consequently, in this era many people were recorded under different spellings each time their name was written down. Research on the Carney family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Carney, Carnie, McCarney, MacCarney, O'Carney, Kearney and many more.

Early Notables of the Carney family

Prominent amongst the family at this time was

Carney of Cashel and John Kearney of Fethard, prominent in court and legal circles in England

Carney Ranking

In the United States, the name Carney is the 956^th most popular surname with an estimated 32,331 people with that name. 3

Carney migration to the United States +

Thousands of Irish families left for North American shores in the 19th century. These people were searching for a life unencumbered with poverty, hunger, and racial discrimination. Many arrived to eventually find such conditions, but many others simply did not arrive: victims of the diseased, overcrowded ships in which they traveled to the New World. Those who lived to see North American shores were instrumental in the development of the growing nations of Canada and the United States. A thorough examination of passenger and immigration lists has disclosed evidence of many early immigrants of the name Carney:

Carney Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Carney who settled in Virginia in 1650
William Carney, who landed in Virginia in 1650 4

Carney Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Timothy Carney, who landed in Virginia in 1751 4
Easter Carney, who arrived in Virginia in 1752 4
Michael Carney and his wife settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1755
Patrick Carney, who arrived in America in 1760-1763 4
Michael Carney, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1765 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Carney Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Carney, who landed in America in 1801 4
Martin Carney, who landed in New York, NY in 1804 4
Nicholas Carney, aged 19, who landed in Baltimore Maryland in 1804 4
James Carney, who settled in Baltimore Maryland in 1804
Elinor Carney, aged 16, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1804 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Carney migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Carney Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Barney Carney, who landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749
Berney Carney, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Carney Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Denis Carney, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1826
Patrick Carney, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Ann & Mary" from Cork, Ireland
Patrick Carney, aged 28, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the ship "Britannia" from Sligo, Ireland
Catherine Carney, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1836
Mrs. Diana Carney, aged 22 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Larch" departing from the port of Sligo, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in August 1847 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Carney migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Carney Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Carney, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Boyd" on 10th March 1809, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Thomas Carney, (Karney, Carny), (b. 1794), aged 28, Irish gardener who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Countess of Harcourt" on 3rd September 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. John Carney, British convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. James Carney who was convicted in Chatham, Kent, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Mr. James Carney, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, London, England for life, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Carney migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Carney Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Jeremiah Carney, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Excelsior" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 17th March 1859, en route to New Plytmouth 11
Mr. Robert Carney, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Spray of the Ocean" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 1st September 1859 12
Mr. Carney, American settler travelling from Honolulu aboard the ship "Dakota" arriving in Port Chalmers, South Island, New Zealand on 10th March 1873 11
Mr. Timothy Carney, (b. 1846), aged 28, Irish farm labourer from Kerry travelling from London aboard the ship "Tweed" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 4th September 1874 12
John Carney, aged 24, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Apelles" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Carney (post 1700) +

Mark Joseph Carney OC (b. 1965), Canadian 8th Governor of the Bank of Canada and youngest of any central bank governors within the G8 nations, current Governor of the Bank of England and Chairman of the G20's Financial Stability Board
Art Carney (1918-2003), Academy Award-winning American actor best known for playing Ed Norton on The Honeymooners
Frank Carney (1938-2020), were American entrepreneur, co-founder of Pizza Hut with his brother Dan Carney
Ralph Carney (1956-2017), American singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist
William Carney (1942-2017), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (1979-1987) 13
Chris Carney (1980-2015), American singer for The Prom Kings
John Joseph Carney (1866-1925), nicknamed "Handsome Jack," American Major League Baseball player
John Michael Carney (b. 1964), former American NFL football placekicker
Christopher P. "Chris" Carney (b. 1959), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (2007-2011)
Alan Carney (1909-1973), born David Boughal, an American actor and comedian
... (Another 63 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Carney family +

HMS Dorsetshire

John William Albert Carney (d. 1945), British Air Artificer 4th Class aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 14

RMS Titanic

Mr. William Carney (d. 1912), aged 31, English Lift Steward from Liverpool, Lancashire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking and was recovered by CS Mackay-Bennett 15

The Carney Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Sustine et abstine
Motto Translation: Sustain and abstain.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 17)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Boyd
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html