Rooney
About Rooney
Talented actress Rooney Mara (originally born Patricia Rooney) has single-handedly transformed this Gaelic surname into a wearable and elegant girls' name. Often said to mean "red-haired", the original surname, rendered as O' Ruanaidh, actually means "descendent of the champion". Trivia note: the most famous Rooney, Mickey Rooney, was originally born Joseph Yule.
Pronounced ROO-nee.
As of October 2026, Rooney ranked #2235 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1970 in 2024.
Editor's take: The name Rooney is a girl's name meaning "descendent of the champion".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #3,987 | 38 | 21.3 |
| 2015 | #4,133 | 36 | 20.2 |
| 2016 | #3,980 | 38 | 21.4 |
| 2017 | #3,538 | 44 | 25.5 |
| 2018 | #2,454 | 73 | 42.9 |
| 2019 | #2,886 | 58 | 34.6 |
| 2020 | #2,335 | 76 | 47 |
| 2021 | #2,577 | 68 | 41.4 |
| 2022 | #2,119 | 91 | 55.5 |
| 2023 | #2,086 | 93 | 58 |
| 2024 | #1,970 | 100 | 61.7 |
| 2025 | #2,235 | 83 | 51.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Rooney.
- Winslow
- Sonnie
- Cloverley
- Ozzy
- Calloway
- Beckett
- Banks
- Keller
- Murphy
- Mercer
- Winley
- Marlo
- Lenny
- Collier
- Reeve
- Greenlee
- Aniston
- Hartford
- Baker
- Beau
Rooney on lists
Famous Rooneys
- (Patricia) Rooney Mara
American actress
- Kate Rooney Mara
American actress
- Andy Rooney
American journalist
Rooney in pop culture
- Olivia "Liv" and Madison "Maddie" Rooney
main characters on TV's "Liv and Maddie"
- Rooney Fforester
character in the Youtube series "Chicken Girls"