How do I find out the root of my LAST name and where it originated?

Question

I have heard that some names like SMITH originated from families of blacksmiths or a name like GOLDMAN was a name that came from the gold rush. I want to know where my last name came from and I have tried to Goggle it but it is kinda rare and I cant find much information on it. My last name is LOONEY (yeah..I know . I get teased enough so dont make a big joke about it). If you can help me find out more about how the name came to be or the roots of it I would appreciate it.

Answer 1

You aren't the only person in the world with this unusual surname. I have a friend whos' maiden name was Looney, she came from Chichester, in Kent UK, she couldn't wait to get married to get rid of this name. I actually think it's quite a fun name, but then again I suppose its totally different having the name.

I would have offered the same answer as the ladies who gave surnamedb as their answer.

Answer 2

http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/search.pl

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default....

http://www.ancestry.co.uk/

http://www.genuki.org.uk/

http://www.uk-genealogy.org.uk/

http://www.ancestorhunt.com/united_kingd...

http://www.oz.net/~markhow/acronym-uk.ht...

http://www.familyhistory.uk.com/

http://www.genesreunited.co.uk/genesreun...

Answer 3

http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...

Surname: Looney

Recorded in many spellings which are all loosely inter-related and including O'Looney, O'Lunney, Looney, O'Loonan, Loonan, Loonane, Lowney, Lunnen and Lunan, this is an Irish surname. The development is from the pre 10th century Gaelic O'Luanaigh or O' Luanain, both having the meaning of the "descendant of Luan", a personal name meaning the hound, and as such originally a nickname for a fast runner. There were originally two septs in Ireland, one belonging to the Munster counties of Cork, Kerry and Clare, and the other as Loonan, Loonane, and Lunan, to County Waterford, and also occasionally County Donegal. Lowney, a form of Looney is popular in the Castletownbere region of West Cork. The second sept of O' Luanaigh were important in medieval times. They were once chiefs of Cenel Moen in the barony of Raphoe, County Donegal. The territory of Manterlooney in County Tyrone is named after this sept. Early examples of the surname recording include those of Thomas Looney, which was dated January 31st 1636, at St. Dunstan in the East, Stepney, city of London, and Mark Lunan, who was one of the first emigrants from the Irish Poato Famine. He left for New York on the ship "Queen of the West" from Liverpool, on April 18th 1846.  

Answer 4

Looney is a very prominent name in the US.  If you've been researching long enough you will run into a Looney.

Some think it originated in County Cork in 148 AD with the marriage of

Con of a Hundred Battles (High King of Ireland in 158 AD) to the

daughter of Olollar Ollium, King of Munster.

From the surname database:

Recorded in many spellings which are all loosely inter-related and including O'Looney, O'Lunney, Looney, O'Loonan, Loonan, Loonane, Lowney, Lunnen and Lunan, this is an Irish surname. The development is from the pre 10th century Gaelic O'Luanaigh or O' Luanain, both having the meaning of the "descendant of Luan", a personal name meaning the hound, and as such originally a nickname for a fast runner. There were originally two septs in Ireland, one belonging to the Munster counties of Cork, Kerry and Clare, and the other as Loonan, Loonane, and Lunan, to County Waterford, and also occasionally County Donegal. Lowney, a form of Looney is popular in the Castletownbere region of West Cork. The second sept of O' Luanaigh were important in medieval times. They were once chiefs of Cenel Moen in the barony of Raphoe, County Donegal. The territory of Manterlooney in County Tyrone is named after this sept. Early examples of the surname recording include those of Thomas Looney, which was dated January 31st 1636, at St. Dunstan in the East, Stepney, city of London, and Mark Lunan, who was one of the first emigrants from the Irish Poato Famine. He left for New York on the ship "Queen of the West" from Liverpool, on April 18th 1846. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?na...

Answer 5

Irish (Munster): reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Luanaigh ‘descendant of Luanach’, a personal name derived from luan ‘warrior’. Compare Lane 3 and Lamb 3. Woulfe distinguishes the Munster name Ó Luanaigh from the Ulster name Ó Luinigh, whence Lunney. However, many of the Anglicizations are the same.