An Irish surname, Carney comes from the Gaelic term ‘catharnaigh’ which refers to the male descendant of the warrior chief. Also the Gaelic term ‘ceamach’ which mean to be conquering. The spelling variations for Carney includes Kearney, Corney, Carnie, Caherny, Keherney, McCarney and O’Carney. In Ireland the Carney spelling can be varied to be Cairney. In Ireland the early Carney families settled in the County Mayo area. Across most of England the Carney surname is located. In the northern region; in Yorkshire, Durham and Lancashire are the more populated counties for the Carney name. In most of Scotland the Carney surname is found. Those counties with the greater Carney populations are Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Midlothian and Angus. Within the United States the original settlements for the Carney families were in Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Tennessee, Michigan and Illinois. Famous: Art Carney (television, radio, theater and film actor and comic), Dan and Frank Carney (brothers who founded Pizza Hut in the 1958), Brian M. Carney (business journalist), Jay Carney (Press Secretary for the White House), William Harvey Carney (African -American soldier to earn the American Medal of Honor for service during the Civil War), John Carney (television and film director from Ireland), Patrick Carney (musician - drummer), Rodney Carney (professional basketball player) and Todd Carney (professional rugby player from Australia).