This project was started in May 2017 with sporadic attention. The information on this page will be refined as research progresses. See the project roadmap for current intentions. The study log pages have further informal notes, ideas, waffles and toast.
What is a one-name study?
A one-name study generally has the following aims (from the Guild of One-Name Studies site):
- Research and collect all occurrences of a surname
- Map the geographical distribution of the name and changes in the distribution over the centuries
- Reconstruct the genealogy of as many lines as possible
- Identity a single original location of the name
How rare is Furney?
Recent UK and US surname
According to Surnames of England and Wales ā the ONS list there were only 54 people in the UK with the surname Furney in 2002. The dataset size was approx 55.9 million, so less than 1 in a million.
On the other side of the pond, using the equivalent U.S. Census Bureau genealogy dataset from 2000, there were 826 people named Furney. The population size in the US in 2000 was approx 282.2 million, making this about 3 in every million people. (Interestingly the more recent data set from 2010 has only 728 Furneys. Englebert retains 819 in comparison!)
The other columns shown in the spreadsheet confirm the population density of 0.31 Furneys in every 100,000 people and that, race wise, over 94% are white.
Going back to the 1790 census in the US, there were 7 households headed by a Furney, 4 in Maryland and 3 in Pennsylvania.
Origins
I have so far only gathered the following conflicting theories from around the interweb.
forebears.co.uk
FURNEY Or Forney, the Norman French pronunciation of Fornet. Sylvester Fornet of Normandy 1105, Nicholas and Sylvester de Fornet 1198 (Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae). Fornet was in the Cotentin.
The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland
This new dictionary was published in 2016 and covers every surname which has more than 100 bearers, or more than 20 bearers in the 1881 census. It can be accessed online at the Oxford Reference site by logging in with a valid library card number.
Furney is listed as a variant of Furneaux. Furneaux in turn lists many variants. Cross referencing these entries (details below), most of these list Furneaux as a secondary possible variant. Only the variants Furnell and Furney seem to be primary variants of Furneaux. The description also mentions Furnel as the singular form, though this surname is not in the dictionary itself.
Furneaux.
Variants: Furnace, Furness, Furnish, Furniss, Farnish, Varnish, Furnell, Furney
- Current frequencies: GB 594, Ireland 5
- GB frequency 1881: 398
- Main GB location 1881: Devon
Norman, English: locative name from either of two places in Normandy called Fourneaux ā(the) furnacesā, one in Manche, the other in Calvados. The surname can also appear in the singular form Furnel. It may sometimes have been confused with Furness; the two names have variants in common.
Further information. Odo de Furnelt, who held Cudworth in Somerset in 1086, probably came from Fourneaux in Manche, and was the ancestor of the Devon family. The place-name Furneux Pelham (Herts), named from Richard de Furneals (12th century), occurs as Pelham Furnelle, 1240, Forneys, 1291, Furneus, 1293, Furnysshe, 1541, and Funish, 1700 in Place-Names of Herts.
Early bearers. Anketillus de Furnels, 1086 in Cambs Inquisition (Cambs); Odo de Fornelt, 1086 in Domesday Book (Somerset); Alan de Furnellā, 1191 in Pipe Rolls (Oxon); Richard de Furnellā, 1206 in Curia Regis Rolls (Yorks); Henry de Furnaus, de Furnellā, de Fornellā, de Furnellis, 1210ā12 in Curia Regis Rolls (Essex and Somerset); Simon de Furneaus, de Furnellis, 1220, 1235 in Book of Fees (Herts); John de Furneals, 1238 in Book of Fees (Devon); Johanne de Furnaux, 1377 in Poll Tax (York); Robertus Furnex, 1379 in Poll Tax (Doncaster, WR Yorks); Johanne Fourneys, 1381 in Poll Tax (Oxford, Oxon); Matthew Furneaux, 1560, John Furnace, 1590, Christopher Furneix, 1600, William Furneux, 1622 in IGI (Paignton, Devon); Syble Furney, 1604 in IGI (Much Marcle, Herefs).
References. Place-Names of Herts, p. 184; Domesday People, p. 308; Domesday Descendants, pp. 469ā70.
Furneaux, Furnell, Furney
| Surname | GB (cur) | Ire (cur) | GB (1881) | Loc (1881) | Variations | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furneaux | 594 | 5 | 398 | Devon | Furnace, Furness, Furnish, Furniss, Farnish, Varnish, Furnell, Furney | Norman, English: locative name from either of two places in Normandy called Fourneaux ā(the) furnacesā, one in Manche, the other in Calvados. |
| Furnell | 987 | 20 | 510 | Wilts; Limerick | Funnell, Fournel, Fernell, Final | English: (i) variant of Furneaux. (ii) alternatively perhaps a variant of Farnell. |
| Furney | 33 | 3 | 84 | scattered: esp. Lancs; Monmouths; Warwicks | Furneaux | Norman, English: variant of Furneaux. |
Furnace, Furness, Furnish, Furniss, Farnish, Varnish
| Surname | GB (cur) | Ire (cur) | GB (1881) | Loc (1881) | Variations | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furness | 3038 | 43 | 2373 | WR Yorks and Lancs | Furniss, Furnass, Furnace, Furnish, Fourniss, Farnish, Varnish, Fourness | 1. English: locative name from the district of Furness (Lancs). 2. Norman, English: occasionally it may be a variant of Furneaux. The two names were sometimes confused. |
| Furnace | 38 | 0 | 166 | scattered: esp. Durham and Cumb; Cambs | - | English: (i) usually a variant of Furness. (ii) sometimes perhaps a variant of Furneaux. |
| Furnish | 169 | 0 | 73 | N England and Lincs; also Norfolk | - | English: (i) usually a variant of Furness. (ii) alternatively a variant of Furneaux. |
| Furniss | 2009 | 19 | 1326 | WR Yorks; also Derbys | - | English: (i) see Furness. (ii) see Furneaux. |
| Farnish | 70 | 1 | 155 | WR Yorks; Suffolk | Varnish | English: (i) see Furness. (ii) alternatively a variant of Furneaux. |
| Varnish | 47 | 0 | 30 | Worcs; also Gloucs | - | English: variant of Farnish with W England voicing of initial F- ; see Furness and Furneaux. |
surnamedb.com
Last name: Furney
SDB Popularity ranking: 14499
This unusual surname, of Anglo-Saxon origin, is a locational name from one of the estimated seven to ten thousand villages and hamlets that have now disappeared from the maps in Britain. The prime cause of these ādisappearancesā was the enforced āclearingā and dispersal of the former inhabitants to make way for sheep pastures at the height of the wool trade in the 14th Century. Natural causes such as the Black Death of 1384 also contributed to the lost village phenomenon. The original place is believed to have been in Herefordshire. The component elements are the Olde English pre 7th Century āforneā meaning trout plus āegā, island or land situated on a stream, hence āisland on a trout streamā. The surname dates back to the mid 16th Century.
Church Records include the christening of Winifred Furney on September 9th 1624 at St. Margaretās, Westminster, and the marriage of Robert Furney to Joane Lovell on July 4th 1639 at Much Marche, Herefordshire. A Coat of Arms granted to a Furney family at Perristone in Herefordshire is silver, a blue fesse between three red lionsā heads erased, the Crest being a red lionās head erased. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elsabeth Furney which was dated 29th January 1563, marriage to Henry Gower at St. Bartholomew the Less, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, āGood Queen Bessā, 1558-1603.
Dictionary of American Family Names
Published in 2003. Again, available online at Oxford Reference.
These entries sound very vague, the dictionary compiler seemingly has no particular knowledge of the origins of these names.
- Furney (338) English: of unknown origin; perhaps a habitational name from an unidentified place. Compare FARNEY, FORNEY.
- Farney (599) 1. English and Scottish: of uncertain origin; perhaps a topographic name from Middle English fern āfernā + heye āenclosureā, or possibly a habitational place from a minor place so named. Compare FORNEY, FURNEY. 2. Variant of German FARNER.
- Forney (2347) 1. Of German origin (also found in Alsace and French Switzerland): perhaps a variant of FARNER. Compare FAHRNI. 2. The surname is also found in England and could be a habitational name from a lost or unidentified place. Compare FARNEY, FURNEY.
- Ferneau (107) Origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of English Furneaux, a Norman habitational name from places called Forneaux in Manche and Calvados, France.
- Furneaux - not listed
Early or notable bearers
Collated from above sources.
Furney
- Elsabeth Furney, married to Henry Gower on 29th January 1563 at St. Bartholomew the Less, London
- Syble Furney, 1604 in IGI (Much Marcle, Herefs)
- Winifred Furney, christened on September 9th 1624 at St. Margaretās, Westminster
- Robert Furney, married to Joane Lovell on July 4th 1639 at Much Marche, Herefordshire
Furneaux
- Tobias Furneaux (1735 - 1781), circumnavigator, who commanded the āAdventureā in Cookās second voyage, and separately explored the coast of Tasmania, preparing the first chart of it, and giving names now on the map.
Furney All the Things
Miscellaneous occurrences of Furney on the interweb.
- There is a street in Dubbo, NSW, Australia called Furney Street
- Some land for sale in Philadelphia at 0 Furney Road
- There is a DJ called Furney who spams all my Google searches (real name James Fearnside - imposter)
- You can buy Furney Beer & Ale drinks coasters on Amazon
- There is a farm called [Furney Copse Farm] near Guildford, they have some Turkeys!
- Itās a Furney Thing T-shirt - que?
- Furniture exhibition organizer Furnex & The Home in Cairo, Egypt
- Online newspaper, the Furney Times