Delaney

What Delaney means

Means “from the alder grove”

From a Norman baronial surname, from a place in France, Old French del aunaie (“from the alder grove”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Delaney” (revision 93670727), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Delaney?

US: Steady: #243 in 2015, #242 now. England & Wales: Falling: down from #2328 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2004, when 2,002 girls got the name (#169 that year). First in the US records in 1939.

How common

• About 1 in 1,253 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 28,142 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ME (3.53 per 1,000 girls), SD (3.28 per 1,000 girls), DE (3.1 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Delaney is #242 in the US and #2788 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.1% of US babies named Delaney were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the UK pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Delainey157 US
• Delani146 US
• Delany59 US
• Deilany21 US
• Dalaney18 US
• Delana11 US · 5 E&W
• Delanee9 US
• Delanny7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Delaney

Girls

• Makenna#593Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2005, with 1,619 babies; 495 in 2025
• Mckenna#410Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1972, with 5 babies
• Kennedy#85“head + ugly”^*
• Rylie#476Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #476 vs #1,454 in 2025
• Kamryn#556Variant of Cameron, meaning “crooked, bent + nose”^*
• Camryn#476Variant of Cameron, meaning “crooked, bent + nose”^*

For a brother

• Cade#248“lump, swelling”^*
• Reese#602“ardor”^*
• Reece#460Editor’s note Used for both: 77% of US babies named Reece in 2025 were boys
• Rohan#810“to ascend”^*
• Kyler#404“archer”^*
• Quinn#466“descendant of Chief”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Delaney’s. Rank is US 2025.