Sweeney (name)
Sweeney is a surname that, though closely associated with Ireland, is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic Mac Suibhne meaning "son of Suibhne". The Gaelic personal name Suibhne was originally a byname meaning "pleasant" or "well-disposed" and is associated with Clan Sweeney. The Gaelic personal name was also used an equivalent to the unrelated Old Norse personal name Sveinn, meaning "boy", "servant".
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.
People with the surname
- A. William Sweeney, Ohio Supreme Court justice
- Alison Sweeney, American television actress
- Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair of Disney Media Networks and President of Disney-ABC Television Group
- Antony Sweeney, English footballer
- Antony G. Sweeney, English director of the Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- Bill Sweeney , baseball player
- Bill Sweeney , Australian footballer
- Bill Sweeney , Canadian ice hockey player
- Bill Sweeney , American baseball player
- Bill Sweeney , baseball player
- Bill Sweeney, CEO of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems
- Bo Sweeney, American politician
- Bob K.O. Sweeney, American boxer
- Bob Sweeney , American retired National Hockey League player
- Bob Sweeney , American actor, director and producer
- Brian Sweeney, American former baseball player
- Brody Sweeney, Irish entrepreneur
- Bruce Sweeney, Canadian film director
- Calvin Sweeney, American former National Football League player
- Ceri Sweeney, Welsh rugby union footballer
- Charles Sweeney
- Charlie Sweeney, American Major League Baseball pitcher
- Ciaran Sweeney, Irish designer
- Claire Sweeney, English actress and singer
- Craig Sweeney, Welsh child sex offender
- D. B. Sweeney, American actor
- Daisy Sweeney, Canadian music teacher
- Daren Sweeney, Montserratian cricketer
- Dennis Sweeney, murderer of American politician Allard K. Lowenstein in 1980
- Don Sweeney, Canadian former National Hockey League player
- Dora M. Sweeney, American politician
- Ed Sweeney, professional baseball player
- Ed Sweeney , American football coach and former player
- Ed Sweeney, inventor of the Aerocar 2000 and Gemini Hummingbird
- Eric Sweeney, English footballer
- Fionnuala Sweeney, Irish anchorwoman and reporter for CNN International
- Frances Sweeney, American journalist and activist
- Francis E. Sweeney, American politician and Ohio Supreme Court justice
- Francis J. Sweeney, Canadian lawyer and politician
- George Sweeney , British actor
- Hank Sweeney, American professional baseball player
- James Sweeney, several people
- Jason Sweeney, American murder victim
- Jim Sweeney
- Joel Sweeney, American musician and early blackface minstrel performer
- John Sweeney
- Joseph Sweeney,, Irish politician
- Joseph Sweeney,, American actor
- Julia Sweeney, American actress and comedian
- Justin Sweeney],, Australian rules footballer
- Kevin Sweeney , American former football quarterback
- Kevin Sweeney, British businessman convicted of murder in 2001 - see Kevin Sweeney case
- Kyle Sweeney, American lacrosse player
- Larry Sweeney, American professional wrestler
- Latanya Sweeney, American computer scientist and Harvard University professor
- Madeline Amy Sweeney, a flight attendant on board American Airlines Flight 11 on 9/11
- Margaret Sweeney , former New Zealand long-distance swimmer
- Mark Sweeney, American former Major League Baseball player
- Martin L. Sweeney, American politician
- Mary Sweeney, American film editor and film producer
- Matt Sweeney, American guitarist, singer and producer
- Matthew Sweeney, Irish poet
- Mavis Sweeney, Australian hospital pharmacist
- Michelle Sweeney, American-born Canadian actress and musician
- Michael or Mike Sweeney
- Monroe Sweeney, American baseball umpire
- Neil Sweeney, Australian rugby player
- Nigel Sweeney, UK barrister and High Court judge
- Patrick Sweeney
- Paul Sweeney, MP and shadow Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
- Peter Sweeney, Scottish footballer
- Peter Sweeney , Scottish-American footballer
- Randy Sweeney, American research scientist
- Robert Augustus Sweeney, only African-American two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor
- Robert E. Sweeney, American politician
- Robert K. Sweeney, American politician
- Ryan Sweeney,, American professional baseball player
- Sam Sweeney, English folk musician
- Sam Sweeney , English cricketer
- Sean Sweeney, Scottish professional football player
- Stephen M. Sweeney, American politician
- Steve Sweeney, American comedian
- Sunny Sweeney, American country music singer
- Sylvia Sweeney, Canadian journalist, television producer and Olympic athlete
- Terry Sweeney, American writer, comedian and actor
- Thomas Sweeney
- Tommy Sweeney, American football player
- Tim Sweeney
- Trajen Sweeney, Just a guy
- Walt Sweeney, American, professional American football player
- Walter Sweeney, British, politician
- Walter C. Sweeney, Jr., United States Air Force general
- William Sweeney
- Zhaun Sweeney, Montserratian cricketer
People with the given name
- Sweeney Schriner, Russian-born Canadian, professional ice hockey player
- Sweeney Young, Australian actor
- Sweeney De Castro,
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 and her sister Liz
- 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 black comedy Heathers
- Mad Sweeney, fictional character in the series American Gods
- Conor MacSweeney, protagonist of the Irish film and television series 'The Young Offenders'