Gaffney is a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

common to the region of

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

in Ireland, and now spread across other English-speaking nations. Gaffney comes from the Gaelic

sept A sept () is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish , meaning "progeny" or "seed", and may indicate the descendants of a person ...

s of Ó Gamhna, Mac Conghamhna and Ó Caibheanaigh. Gaffney more commonly does not appear with the Gaelic prefixes of O' or Mc but there have been Gaffneys recorded with either of the Gaelic prefixes. In

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

context the surname Gaffney (Hebrew: גפני, alternative English spellings: Gafni/Gafny) is used for

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

people whose ancestors were

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

makers as "Geffen" (גפן) is the Hebrew word for

vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...

. Notable people with the surname include: *

Beryl Gaffney Beryl Gaffney ( Clark; April 1, 1930) is a Canadian former politician and public servant. She served as a city councillor in Nepean, Ontario from 1978 to 1988 serving concurrently on the council of the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. ...

(born 1930), Canadian politician *

Christopher Gaffney (bishop) Christopher Gaffney, a prebendary of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, was Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Irela ...

(died 1576), Irish bishop *

Chris Gaffney (musician) Christopher F. Gaffney (October 3, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American singer and songwriter from the Southwest. His career, both as a solo musician and as a member of several bands, was as eclectic as his musical tastes. Although he never ...

(1950–2008), American singer–songwriter *

Christopher Gaffney (archaeologist) Christopher F. Gaffney (born 14 June 1962) is a British archaeological geophysicist and is Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Bradford. Gaffney's research interests are based on understanding how geophysical data can aide ...

(born 1962), British archaeologist *

Chris Gaffaney __NOTOC__ Christopher Blair Gaffaney (born 30 November 1975) is a New Zealand cricket umpire and former cricketer who played for Otago. He became an umpire after retiring as a player. A right-handed batsman, he played in 83 first-class and 11 ...

(born 1975), New Zealand cricketer *

David Gaffney David Gaffney is a British writer well known for his flash fiction. His work has appeared in such publications as ''Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine'', '' Bad Idea'', and ''Ambit''. He was the 2015 flash-fiction judge for the ...

(born 1961), British writer *

Dean Gaffney Dean Martin Gaffney (born 14 February 1978) is an English actor, best known for his role as Robbie Jackson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1993 to 2004 and 2017 to 2019; he also made guest appearances in 2004, 2010 and 2015. In 2006, ...

(born 1978), British actor *

Derrick Gaffney Derrick Tyrone Gaffney (May 24, 1955 – March 17, 2025) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for eight seasons with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) during the 1970s and 1980s. Gaffney pl ...

(1955–2025), American football player * Edward Gaffney (born 1943), American politician * Elizabeth Gaffney (born 1966), American novelist *

Eric Gaffney Eric Gaffney (born December 25, 1967, in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an American songwriter and recording artist, and has been home recording on cassette since 1981. An active participant in the Western Mass hardcore scene, in 1983 he founded ...

(born 1967), American songwriter * Eugene S. Gaffney, American paleontologist * F. Drew Gaffney (born 1946), American doctor *

Frank Gaffney Frank J. Gaffney Jr. (born April 5, 1953) is an American defense policy analyst and founder of the Center for Security Policy (CSP). He founded the CSP in 1988, serving as its president until 2023, and thereafter as executive chairman. In the 1 ...

(born 1953), American lobbyist * Frank Gaffney (Medal of Honor) (1883–1948), American soldier *

Jabar Gaffney Derrick Jabar Gaffney (born December 1, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, earning unanimous All-American ho ...

(born 1980), American football player * James Anthony Gaffney, British civil engineer * James E. Gaffney (1868–1932), American baseball executive *

Jim Gaffney James Thomas Gaffney Jr. (April 26, 1921 – August 9, 2015) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins in 1945 and 1946. In Week 3 of the 1946 season against Detroit, he scored a rece ...

(1921–2015), American football player * John Gaffney (1855–1913), American baseball umpire and manager * Kiley Gaffney, Australian musician *

Mason Gaffney Merrill Mason Gaffney (October 18, 1923 – July 16, 2020) was an American economist and a major critic of Neoclassical economics from a Georgist point of view. Gaffney first read Henry George's masterwork ''Progress and Poverty'' as a high schoo ...

, (1923–2020), American economist *

Matt Gaffney Matt Gaffney is a professional crossword puzzle constructor and author who lives in Staunton, Virginia. His puzzles have appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine, the ''Chicago Tribune'', the ''Daily Beast'', ''Dell Champion Crossword Puzzles'', '' ...

, (born 1972), American crossword puzzle constructor *

Mo Gaffney Maureen E. Gaffney (born November 5, 1958, in San Diego, California) is an American actress and activist. Career Gaffney hosted two of her own television talk shows: ''Women Aloud!'' (which was shown on the Comedy Central network) and ''The Mo S ...

(born 1958), American actress * Patricia Gaffney (born 1944), American writer * Robert J. Gaffney (born 1944), American politician * Robbie Gaffney (born 1957), Irish football player * Rose Gaffney (1895–1979), American environmental activist *

Tony Gaffney Anthony Joseph Gaffney Jr. (born November 14, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball at the University of Massachusetts. During the 2008–09 season, he received numerous honors from the Atlantic ...

(born 1984), American basketball player

See also