Sweeney is a surname that is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Suibhne meaning "son of Suibhne".[1][2] The Gaelic personal name Suibhne was originally a byname meaning "pleasant" or "well-disposed" and is associated with Clan Sweeney.[3]
In the United States, the surname Sweeney can also be an Americanization of the French surname Choinière. This French surname is derived from choin, meaning white, and probably originated as an occupational name for a baker.[4]
People with the surname
- A. William Sweeney (1920–2003), Ohio Supreme Court justice
- Alison Sweeney (born 1976), American television actress
- Anne Sweeney (born 1957), Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney–ABC Television Group
- Antony Sweeney (born 1983), English footballer
- Antony G. Sweeney (born 1955), English director of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- Bill Sweeney (CEO), CEO of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems
- Bill Sweeney (first baseman) (1904–1957), baseball player
- Bill Sweeney (footballer) (1914–1973), Australian footballer
- Bill Sweeney (ice hockey) (1937–1991), Canadian ice hockey player
- Bill Sweeney (infielder) (1886–1948), American baseball player
- Bill Sweeney (pitcher) (1858–1903), baseball player
- Bo Sweeney (1862–1917), American politician
- Bob Sweeney (ice hockey) (born 1964), American retired National Hockey League player
- Bob Sweeney (TV director and producer) (1918–1992), American actor, director and producer
- Bob K.O. Sweeney (1894–1961), American boxer
- Brian Sweeney (born 1974), American former baseball player
- Brody Sweeney, Irish entrepreneur
- Bruce Sweeney (fl. 1995–present), Canadian film director
- Calvin Sweeney (born 1955), American former National Football League player
- Ceri Sweeney (born 1980), Welsh rugby union footballer
- Charles Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Charlie Sweeney (1863–1902), American Major League Baseball pitcher
- Ciaran Sweeney (born 1971), Irish designer
- Claire Sweeney (born 1971), English actress and singer
- Craig Sweeney (born 1982), Welsh child sex offender
- D. B. Sweeney (born 1961), American actor
- Daisy Sweeney (1920–2017), Canadian music teacher
- Daren Sweeney (born 1970), Montserratian cricketer
- Dennis Sweeney, murderer of American politician Allard K. Lowenstein in 1980
- Don Sweeney (born 1966), Canadian former National Hockey League player
- Dora M. Sweeney (1907–2001), American politician
- Ed Sweeney (baseball) (1888–1947), professional baseball player
- Ed Sweeney (American football) (1949–2017), American football coach and former player
- Ed Sweeney, inventor of the Aerocar 2000 and Gemini Hummingbird
- Eric Sweeney (composer) (1948–2020), Irish composer
- Eric Sweeney (1903–1968), English footballer
- Fionnuala Sweeney (born 1965), Irish anchorwoman and reporter for CNN International
- Frances Sweeney (1908–1944), American journalist and activist
- Francis E. Sweeney (1934–2011), American politician and Ohio Supreme Court justice
- Francis J. Sweeney (1862–?), Canadian lawyer and politician
- George Sweeney (actor) (fl. 1971–present), British actor
- Hank Sweeney (1915–1980), American professional baseball player
- Jack Sweeney, American programmer and entrepreneur
- James Sweeney (disambiguation), several people
- Jason Sweeney (1986–2003), American murder victim
- Jim Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Joel Sweeney (1810–1860), American musician and early blackface minstrel performer
- John Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Joseph Sweeney (Irish politician), (1897–1980), Irish politician
- Joseph Sweeney (actor), (1884–1963), American actor
- Julia Sweeney (born 1959), American actress and comedian
- Justin Sweeney, (born 1987), Australian rules footballer
- Kevin Sweeney (American football) (born 1963), American former football quarterback
- Kevin Sweeney, British businessman convicted of murder in 2001 – see Kevin Sweeney case
- Kyle Sweeney (born 1981), American lacrosse player
- Larry Sweeney (1981–2011), American professional wrestler
- Latanya Sweeney, American computer scientist and Harvard University professor
- Madeline Amy Sweeney (1965–2001), a flight attendant on board American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11
- Margaret Sweeney (swimmer) (born 1929/1930), former New Zealand long-distance swimmer
- Mark Sweeney (born 1969), American former Major League Baseball player
- Mark Sweeney (politician) (1959–2022), American politician
- Martin L. Sweeney (1885–1960), American politician
- Mary Sweeney, American film editor and film producer
- Mary Ann Sweeney (born 1945), American physicist
- Matt Sweeney (fl. 1989–present), American guitarist, singer and producer
- Matthew Sweeney (1951–2018), Irish poet
- Maureen Flavin Sweeney (1923–2023), Irish postmistress
- Mavis Sweeney (1909–1986), Australian hospital pharmacist
- Michelle Sweeney, American-born Canadian actress and musician
- Michael or Mike Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Monroe Sweeney (1892–1950), American baseball umpire
- Neil Sweeney (born 1977), Australian rugby player
- Nigel Sweeney (born 1954), UK barrister and High Court judge
- Patrick Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Paul Sweeney (born 1989), MP and shadow Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
- Peter Sweeney (born 1984), Scottish footballer
- Peter Sweeney (footballer) (fl. 1916–1929), Scottish-American footballer
- Randy Sweeney (born 1956), American research scientist
- Robert Augustus Sweeney (1853–1890), only African-American two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor
- Robert E. Sweeney (1924–2007), American politician
- Robert K. Sweeney (born 1949), American politician
- Ryan Sweeney (baseball), (born 1985), American professional baseball player
- Sam Sweeney (born 1989), English folk musician
- Sam Sweeney (cricketer) (born 1990), English cricketer
- Sean Sweeney (born 1969), Scottish professional football player
- Stephen M. Sweeney (born 1959), American politician
- Steve Sweeney (born 1949), American comedian
- Sunny Sweeney (born 1976), American country music singer
- Sylvia Sweeney (born 1956), Canadian journalist, television producer and Olympic athlete
- Sydney Sweeney (born 1997), American actress
- Tara Sweeney (born 1973), American politician
- Terry Sweeney (born 1969), American writer, comedian and actor
- Thomas Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Tommy Sweeney (born 1997), American football player
- Tim Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Walt Sweeney (1941–2013), American, professional American football player
- Walter Sweeney (disambiguation)
- William Sweeney (disambiguation)
- Zhaun Sweeney (born 1979), Montserratian cricketer
People with the given name
- Sweeney Schriner (1911–1990), Russian-born Canadian, professional ice hockey player
- Sweeney Young (born 1988), Australian actor
Fictional characters
- Sweeney Todd, fictional barber and serial killer
- Sweeney, the anti-hero of several works by T. S. Eliot, including The Waste Land and the verse drama Sweeney Agonistes
- Moira/Max Sweeney, on the Showtime television network series The L Word
- Sinbad Sweeney, in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside
- Mr. Sweeney, in Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
- The Sweeney Sisters, a recurring musical SNL sketch from the 1980s featuring Candy Sweeney (Jan Hooks) and her sister Liz (Nora Dunn)
- Lieutenant Sweeney, in the 2005 film Dead Men Walking
- Sweeney, the main character in the Irish legend seen in Sweeney Astray
- Ram Sweeney, fictional character in the 1988 black comedy film Heathers, and it's musical and TV adaptations
- Mad Sweeney, fictional character in the series American Gods
- Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy), protagonist of the Irish film and television series The Young Offenders
- Reno Sweeney, the evangelist turned nightclub singer from Anything Goes
See also
References
- ↑ "Learn about the family history of your surname", Ancestry.com, retrieved 29 September 2011. For the surnames McQueen, Swain, Sweeney, this website cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
- ↑ "Origins of our names". Liverpool Echo. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
- ↑ name="ancestry">"Learn about the family history of your surname", Ancestry.com, retrieved 29 September 2011. For the surnames McQueen, Swain, Sweeney, this website cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
- ↑ "Learn about the family history of your surname", Ancestry.com, retrieved 29 September 2011. For the surnames Choiniere and Sweeney, this website cited: Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4.
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