Cooney is a common Irish surname. In various forms, the name dates back to the 12th century. It is first associated with County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

 then in the province of Connaught

Connacht

Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

, in the townland of Ballycooney, Loughrea barony, in County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

, then to County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, County Mayo

County Mayo

County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...

, and Dublin.

Alternate spellings are O'Conney, Coony, Coonahan, Coonihan, Coonie, Coonan, Coumey, (Coomey) and Cooihan. Alternate spellings of O'Cuana are Cuana, Coona, O Cuanaic, and O'Cuanaich. Some with the name, Coonifer, Coonihan and Coumey, the latter mainly from County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, have been changed into Cooney.

People named Cooney

• Adam Cooney
  Adam Cooney
  Adam Cooney is an Australian rules footballer, playing for the Western Bulldogs in the AFL. Cooney, recruited from West Adelaide in the SANFL, won the 2008 Brownlow Medal with 24 votes becoming the 10th Footscray/Western Bulldog player to win the AFL's highest individual honor.He attended...
  
   - AFL
  Australian Football League
  The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
  
   football player
• Andy Cooney
  Andy Cooney
  Andrew Cooney was an Irish Republican.From Nenagh, County Tipperary, Cooney began studying medicine at University College Dublin just as the Irish War of Independence was getting underway, and he played for a brief spell with the College's hurling club...
  
  
• Barbara Cooney
  Barbara Cooney
  Barbara Cooney was an American children's author and illustrator of more than 200 books and double Caldecott Medalist. She has written books for six decades...
  
   - children's book author/illustrator
• Caroline B. Cooney
  Caroline B. Cooney
  Caroline B. Cooney is an American author of suspense, romance, horror and mystery books for young adults. She currently resides in Fort Mill, South Carolina....
  
   - author
• Cooney Weiland
  Cooney Weiland
  Ralph "Cooney" Weiland was an NHL forward who played for the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Detroit Red Wings....
  
   - inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1971
• Edward Cooney
  Edward Cooney
  Edward Cooney was an Irish evangelist from the 1890s to the 1950s. He became one of the early leaders of a church founded by William Irvine. Because of his colorful style and public preaching, his name came to be associated with the entire movement...
  
   - Irish evangelist
• Gerry Cooney
  Gerry Cooney
  Gerry Cooney is a retired Irish-American professional boxer from Huntington, New York best known for his loss to Larry Holmes and defeat of aging ex-champion/contender Ken Norton.-Life before boxing:...
  
   - famous boxer
  Boxing
  Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
  
  
• Eamon Cooney - Poet from County Cavan
• James Cooney (1848 – 1904) - Irish-American lawyer
• Sergeant James C. Cooney
  James C. Cooney
  James C. Cooney was a Sergeant of the U.S. Army in the 8th U.S. Cavalry when he found large silver and gold reserves in the Mogollon Mountains of Catron County, New Mexico. He was transferred to Fort Bayard, near Silver City, New Mexico in 1870. While scouting for the 8th U.S. Cavalry north of...
  
   - Struck gold in southwest New Mexico
• James Cooney (Medal of Honor recipient), American Medal of Honor recipient
• Joan Ganz Cooney
  Joan Ganz Cooney
  Joan Ganz Cooney is an American television producer. She is one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop , the organization famous for the creation of the children's television show Sesame Street. Cooney received her B.A...
  
  
• Mark Cooney
  Mark Cooney
  Mark Cooney was a linebacker in the National Football League. Cooney was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixteenth round of the 1974 NFL Draft and played that season with the team....
  
  - freshman for life
• John-Anthony Cooney
  John-Anthony Cooney
  John-Anthony Cooney is a British illustrator, animator, designer and stand-up comedian. He is perhaps best known in recent years for producing novelty greeting card designs, although he has also frequently illustrated for a variety of English language newspapers and magazines...
  
  (1982- ) - British illustrator, animator, designer and stand-up comedian
• Lin Sue Cooney
  Lin Sue Cooney
  Lin Sue Cooney is a television reporter who works at Arizona's Channel 12 NBC affiliate, KPNX.-Biography:In her childhood her family moved from her birth place, Taipei, Taiwan, to Great Falls, Montana...
  
  
• Patrick Cooney
  Patrick Cooney
  Patrick Cooney is a former Irish politician of the Fine Gael party. Most notable as Minister for Justice from 1973 to 1977, he was a Teachta Dála for 15 years, a senator for four years, and Member of the European Parliament for five years.Cooney was born in 1931 and was educated at Castleknock...
  
   - Irish politician
• Philip Cooney
  Philip Cooney
  Philip A. Cooney is a former member of the administration of United States President George W. Bush. Before serving in the federal government, he was a lawyer and lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute.-Personal:...
  
   - former Bush administration
  George W. Bush administration
  The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
  
   official with ties to the energy business lobby (American Petroleum Institute
  American Petroleum Institute
  The American Petroleum Institute, commonly referred to as API, is the largest U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry...
  
  )
• Ray Cooney
  Ray Cooney
  Raymond George Alfred Cooney, OBE is an English playwright and actor. His biggest success, Run for Your Wife, lasted nine years in London's West End and is its longest-running comedy. He has had 17 of his plays performed there....
  
   - British playwright
• Terry Cooney
  Terry Cooney
  Terrance Joseph Cooney is a former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from to ; he wore uniform number 12...
  
   - American baseball umpire
• Walter R. Cooney, Jr.
  Walter R. Cooney, Jr.
  Walter R. Cooney, Jr. is an American chemical engineer and astronomer. Cooney, who is affiliated with the Highland Road Park Observatory, has discovered more than 60 asteroids, including the 1998 identification of 11739 Baton Rouge, and he is credited with discovering more than 50 variable...
  
   - astronomer
• Brian R. Cooney - Singer/Songwriter
• Bob Cooney
  Bob Cooney
  Robert Daniel "Bob" Cooney was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Browns in and .-External links:*...
  
   - Singer/Songwriter, Cooney and Eliot
• Gus Cooney - Actor
• Thomas C. Cooney, American Medal of Honor recipient
• peter-anthony of the Cooney's (clan of Tir Eogan), Double-silver medallist, World Traditional and Shaolin Wushu Championships, Zhengzhou, P.R.C. 2006 representing G.B.