Arney
Originally a nickname form of Arnold, with some cases possibly influenced by old eagle-based name elements.
The #9,548 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 90,674 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The main traditional explanation is that Arney is a shortened or nicknamed form of Arnold. In that reading, it ultimately goes back to Germanic roots meaning something like “eagle” plus “power” or “rule,” the elements behind Arnold. Some 19th-century writers also connected Arney with older eagle-based personal-name forms and local-name elements, so there may have been more than one pathway into the surname.
History
Lower explicitly treats Arney as a nickname for Arnold, and related forms such as Arnison are explained from the same base. Other historical surname scholars linked Arney with a wider family of Germanic and Scandinavian names built on arn/arn- “eagle,” which helps explain its close relation to Arnold, Arno, Arnott, and similar surnames. The name is now relatively uncommon in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century surname scholar grouped Arney with a whole “eagle” cluster of names, since many related surnames begin with arn-, the old Germanic word for eagle.
From the historical record
“i, 201. ARNEY. A nick-name for Arnold, whence Arnison. ARNISON. See Arney. ARNOLD. The personal name; also a parish in the county of Wilts. ARNOLL. ARNELL. ARNALL. AENULL. AEXOULD. Corruptions of Arnold.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom