Roney
A surname most likely used as a spelling of Rooney, from an Irish Gaelic personal name meaning “descendant of the champion.”
The #5,761 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,329 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical evidence points mainly to Roney being a variant spelling of Rooney rather than a separate independent surname. In Irish usage, Rooney comes from Gaelic forms based on a personal name often interpreted as meaning “descendant of the champion” or “descendant of the strong one,” though older authors gave different spellings and analyses. Some English-language surname dictionaries also treat Roney as a reduced or altered form of Ronald/Ronaldson or as a spelling influenced by similar names, so the exact origin can vary by family line.
History
Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname works commonly cross-reference Roney with Rooney, and Irish sources list it alongside related forms such as Rowney and Rooneen. The name appears in Irish and Manx records, and in some English contexts it was also treated as a local spelling variant rather than a distinct surname. Because of that, modern bearers may have Irish, Manx, or occasionally Scots-English ancestry behind the same spelling.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In one Manx place-name record, a well called Chibber Oney is explained as a corruption of Chibber Roney, literally “Roney’s Well.”
From the historical record
“suff. -el, Lat. -ell-us] RONEY, V. Rooney. RONILDS for Ronalds, q.v. RONNIE, a double dim. of Ronald, q.v. fN.E. and Scot. dim. suff. -/V] RONSON, a contr. of i Ronaldson, q.v. 2 Rolandson, q.v. RONTREE (Scand.) Dweller at a Roan-Tree or Mountain-Ash [Dan.-Norw. rSnnetrce ;”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)