Given name & surname
Tierney
“one who is regal; lordly”
Tierney is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “one who is regal; lordly.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “one who is regal; lordly.”
The story
The name’s historical associations include a 6th-century saint.
Tierney through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,979
- 23 boys · 3,956 girls
- Most popular year
- 1993
- 172 babies
- 2025
- 15
- #7,456 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −53%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 15 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 7,456 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 53.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 172 in 1993. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,544 as a first name in 2020; 13,238 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.
Tierney’s family of names
Tierney has a related form in Tiernan. Tierney is an English adaptation of Ti(ghe)arnach. Tierney has a related form in Tiernea.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 8
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Tierney, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ita
“one who is thirsty”
>99% girls
Mchaney
“son of the servant of (Saint) Canice”
—
Mulkey
“descendant of the devotee of (Saint) Cathach”
—
Mulroney
“descendant of the devotee of (Saint) Ruanadh”
—
Mcelhiney
“son of the servant of (saint) Coinneach”
—
Mcelhinney
“son of the servant of (saint) Coinneach”
—
Mcelhaney
“son of the servant of (saint) Coinneach”
—
Moroney
“descendant of the devotee of (Saint) Ruanadh”
—