The Irish surname Clancey is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Mac Fhlannchaidh, patronymic from the personal nameFlannchadh, which is derived from flannmeaning “red.” The original bearers would have been known as the son of the red-haired man. The name Clancey is a west of Ireland name with two main families, the most numerous being found County Clare, and the village of Cahermacclancy, and the nearby counties of Galway and Tipperary, a smaller group can be found in Co Leitrim. The name is first recorded in the New World in 1739 when Felix Clancy arrived in Pennsylvania. Today there are approximately 800 bearers of the name Clancey in the US.

.