The McSweeney surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,807 people carried this name — #8,639 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 77,500 people counted. That is up 5% from 3,639 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the McSweeney surname

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Suibhne.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McSweeney» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 29 births for the McSweeney name in 1890.

Most were registered in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 16 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Cork.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 27
Leinster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In print

McSweeney in American newspapers,
1903–1921.

Newspaper page from The Irish News And Chicago Citizen carrying the name McSweeney
The Irish News And Chicago Citizen 1920-09-03
Newspaper page from The Coconino Sun carrying the name McSweeney
The Coconino Sun 1921-06-24
Newspaper page from Burlington Weekly Free Press carrying the name McSweeney
Burlington Weekly Free Press 1903-10-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 16,868 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McSweeney in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2010s.

8,249 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McSweeney. The most, 1,599, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 2,435
New South Wales 2,354
Queensland 1,587
Victoria 1,045
Western Australia 585
Tasmania 206
ACT (Canberra) 14
Northern Territory 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McSweeney.

Who carried it

People named McSweeney,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Miles Benjamin McSweeney
    Miles Benjamin McSweeney 1855–1921 · publisher
  • John McSweeney
    John McSweeney 1890–1969 · manual worker
  • John McSweeney, Jr. 1915–1999 · film editor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McSweeney,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,230 records

1,230 records of the McSweeney name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 388
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 360
  • Other U.S. records 482
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Daniel J. McSweeney

    Born 1909 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; bank clerk from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1980, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Margaret McSweeney

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Britannic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 24; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record James G. Mc Sweeney

    U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. Born 1933, died 1998; buried at Calvary Cemetery, Woodstock, Illinois.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 1,230 records for McSweeney in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia425 records

425 records of the McSweeney name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 196
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 108
  • Other Australian records 121
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Ellen McSweeney

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Earl Grey, sailing from Kingston in 1849. Native of Cork, Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Kate McSweeney

    Died 1927 in Mental Hospital, New¿norfolk, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1928.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Dennis McSweeney

    Arrived in Victoria in 1913 aboard the Zieten, aged 40.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 425 records for McSweeney in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada93 records

93 records of the McSweeney name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 83
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 5
  • Other Canadian records 5
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Catherine May McSweeney

    Buried in 1959 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 54.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Evelyn May McSweeney

    Died 1969 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Daniel McSweeney

    Died 1922; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 93 records for McSweeney in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand34 records

34 records of the McSweeney name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 29
  • Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury 2
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elsie Mary McSweeney

    Died 1995, aged 94; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert John McSweeney

    Died 2000, aged 68; buried at Mercury Bay Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record B. McSweeney

    New Zealand Infantry. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 34 records for McSweeney in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

United Kingdom5 records

5 records of the McSweeney name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record D. McSweeney

    Pioneer, Royal Engineers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record P. McSweeney

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 5 records for McSweeney in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Ireland2 records

2 records of the McSweeney name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Nellie McSweeney

    Died 1953, aged 39; buried at Rakerin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Margaret McSweeney

    Died 1959; buried at Rakerin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McSweeney.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McSweeney is.
A volume says what happened to it.

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