Delany is a spelling of Delaney, an Irish surname from Ó Dubhshláine that is usually explained as "dark challenger" or "descendant of the black river"; some trace it instead to the Norman French de l'aunaie, "from the alder grove". Like Delaney it became a girls' name in America in the 1990s. In the United States Delany reached number 2123 in 2024 and stands at number 2866 in 2025.