Rooney

Did you know?

A few things about Rooney you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Rooney

Rooney Mara

American actress (born 1985)

Choose Rooney and your child shares a first name with Rooney Mara, an American actress. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Rooney, like who?” Rooney Mara's Wikipedia article is available in 61 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Rooney Mara on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/greg2600/, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 60,976 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Rooney, 28 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Rooney would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryRooney first shows up in US birth records in 1943, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 82 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIts best year was 1967, when it reached #2,352.
• 🚀TrendRooney has climbed 427 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #3,848. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• ⚖️Boy or girlRooney is given to both boys and girls: 75% of the 111 babies named Rooney in 2025 were girls. That makes it one of the names that truly works for either.
• 💬MeaningIn Irish, Rooney means “red-haired”. Our records link it to Irish, Irish surname and Scottish roots.

About the name Rooney

Rooney is a boy name of Irish, Irish surname and Scottish origin meaning “red-haired”. It has 6 letters and 2 syllables, starting with R and ending in “-ney”. US birth records list Rooney for boys from 1943 to 2025, in 45 of those 83 years. Its best year was 1967, when it ranked #2,352 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #3,848, with 28 babies.

Origin:Irish namesIrish surname namesScottish names