The surname Growney is an anglicised form of the Old Gaelic Ó Gramhna, which is frequently understood to be a variant or shortened form of Mac Carrghamhna (typically associated with the roots carr, meaning a rock, and gamhan, meaning a calf).

While related septs such as MacCarron settled primarily in Ulster, the Growney (and historically O’Gramhna) name established strong roots in counties such as Westmeath, Meath and Cavan. In the 1659 “Census of Ireland,” the name appears recorded under older Gaelic enumerations in the midlands, eventually concentrating heavily across south Cavan and north Meath as families farmed through the centuries.