An English and Irish surname, Delaney comes from the Old French term ‘aunaie’ which meant alder grove and from the Gaelic terms of ‘dubh’ and ‘slan’ which refer to black boldness or confront. The spelling variations for Delaney include Dalaney, Delaune, Delany and Delaune. In England the Delaney surname is scattered over most of the country. Those regions with the greater populations are Yorkshire, Lancashire and the city of London. In Ireland the Delaney family name started in Leinster. In Scotland the counties with the greatest Delaney households include Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Angus, Argyll, Stirlingshire and Renfrewshire. Within the United States the original Delaney families resided in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Famous: Shelagh Delaney (playwright from England), Edward Delaney (sculptor from Ireland), Jack Delaney (champion boxer of the world, from Canada), Arthur K. Delaney (first mayor of Juneau, Alaska in 1900), Colin Delaney (professional wrestler), Joe Delaney (professional football player), Kim Delaney (actress), Mark A. Delaney (professional footballer from Wales), Sean Delaney (music producer), Robert Delaney (professional baseball player), Martin Delaney (English actor) and Joseph Delaney (science fiction and fantasy author).