Downey

English

Etymology

Various origins:

  • Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Dúnadhaigh (descendant of Dúnadhach), a personal name which derives from a diminutive form of dúnadh (closing, securing, fastening).
  • Irish surname from a reduced form of McEldowney or Muldowney.
  • Scottish habitational surname from the barony of Downie or Duny, named from Scottish Gaelic dùn (hill) + the locative suffix -ach.

Proper noun

Downey (countable and uncountable, plural Downeys)

  1. A surname.
    • 2019 October 25, Konstantin Toropin, “A woman found an unfinished, 20-year-old quilt and complete strangers are helping piece it together”, in CNN[1]:
      Shannon Downey goes for the unfinished stitching projects.
  2. A city in Los Angeles County, California, United States.
  3. A city in Bannock County, Idaho, United States.
  4. An unincorporated community in Cedar County, Iowa, United States.

Derived terms

Statistics

  • According to the 2010 United States Census, Downey is the 1320th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 26627 individuals. Downey is most common among White (88.35%) individuals.

Further reading