Delaney, a surname-turned-given-name, is believed to be derived from the Norman French phrase de l'aunaie, meaning "from the alder grove," or the Irish surname Ó Dubhshláine, meaning "descendant of Dubhshláine." The name Dubhshláine translates to "dark river" or "dark defiance." It first appeared in the Social Security Administration's top 1,000 for girl names in 1991 and cracked the top-200 for the first time in 2002. It hasn't fully caught on in the United States, but is still given to more than 1,000 baby girls every year.
