Given name & surname · also Irish
Downey
“descendant of Dúnadhach”
Downey is a surname from Irish (ultimately Scottish Gaelic).
Meaning & origin
What it means
Downey goes back to Irish Ó Dúnadhaigh, meaning “descendant of Dúnadhach.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Downey comes from Irish, and ultimately from Scottish Gaelic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From Irish Ó Dúnadhaigh (“descendant of Dúnadhach”), from Scottish Gaelic dùn (“hill”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1926. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Downey through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6
- 6 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1926
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 1926. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 25,382 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Downey’s family of names
In English usage, Downey as a surname has a related form in MCELDOWNEY.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Downey, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Dorsey
“from the fortress near the sea”
87% boys · 13% girls
Donal
“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”
>99% boys
Humphrey
“a peaceful warrior”
>99% boys
Dunn
“a brown-haired man”
>99% boys
Doyle
“a dark stranger”
>99% boys
Dugald
“a dark stranger”
>99% boys
Dougal
“a dark stranger”
>99% boys
Loman
“one who is small and bare”
>99% boys