In its form, Delaney is a Norman name, from De l'aunaie, meaning "from the alder grove", and doubtless some of those bearing the name in Ireland are of Norman stock. However, in the vast majority of cases, it was adopted as the anglicised form of the original Irish O Dubhshlaine, from dubh, meaning "black" and slan, meaning "defiance". The original territory of the O Dubhshlaine was at the foot of the Slieve Bloom mountains in Co. Laois. From there they spread also in neighbouring Co. Kilkenny, and the surname is still strongly associated with these two counties. The most famous historical bearer of the surname was Patrick Delaney (1685/6-1768), Church of Ireland clergyman, renowned preacher and close friend of Jonathan Swift, of whom he wrote a celebrated "Defence".