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Gurney
How to Pronounce Gurney
Pronounced GUR-nee /ˈɡɜːrni/High
Meaning: Gurney is an English surname that began as a Norman place name, Gournay in northern France, carried to England after the Conquest by a family that took its name from the town. As a given name it follows the surname-as-forename fashion.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Gurney came to England with Norman settlers who took their name from Gournay, a place in the old duchy of Normandy. It became a settled English surname and, in the American fashion of turning family names into first names, was now and then given to sons.
As a first name Gurney was never common, drawing only a couple dozen boys a year even at its high around 1928 and fading by mid-century. It reads today as a stately old surname-name; a boy given it then would belong to a great-grandfather's generation now.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Gurney mean?
It is an English surname turned first name, from the Norman place name Gournay.
How do you pronounce Gurney?
It's said GUR-nee /ˈɡɜːrni/, two syllables, stress on the first.
Is Gurney a boy or girl name?
Gurney is used as a boy's name.
Is Gurney a popular name?
No, it has always been rare as a first name, an old surname-name that saw only faint use in the early twentieth century.