Find out how popular the last name Mahoney is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Mahoney.

Mahoney, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Mahoney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mahoney in America

Mahoney is the 855th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mahoney surname appeared 40,397 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 14 people would have the surname Mahoney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mahoney to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Mahoney

The surname Mahoney is of Irish origin and can be traced back to the early medieval period. It is an anglicized version of the Gaelic name Ó Mathghamhna, which means "descendant of Mathghamhan". Mathghamhan was a personal name derived from the Irish words "maith" meaning good or noble, and "gamhan" meaning a calf or bear.

The earliest known bearers of this surname were located in County Cork, particularly in the area around the town of Mahon. This place name is believed to have derived from the same Gaelic root as the surname, indicating that the family may have taken their name from the territory they inhabited.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name can be found in the Annals of Inisfallen, a medieval chronicle of Irish history. In an entry dated 1171, a certain Mathghamhain Ua Mathghamhna is listed as the Chief of Ui Mathghamhna, a territory located in what is now County Cork.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the spelling of the name began to evolve and variations such as Mahowny, Mahony, and Mahoney became more common. This was largely due to the influence of the English language and the anglicization of Irish names.

Notable individuals with the surname Mahoney throughout history include:

1. Dermot Mahoney (c. 1540-1610), an Irish rebel leader who fought against English rule in Munster during the Desmond Rebellions.

2. Francis Sylvester Mahoney (1804-1866), an American Catholic priest and author who wrote extensively on religious topics.

3. Michael Mahoney (1837-1924), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of San Francisco from 1884 to 1886.

4. Will Mahoney (1892-1967), an American vaudeville performer and comedian known for his pantomime and silent comedy acts.

5. Dorothy Mahoney (1920-2014), an American mathematician and computer scientist who made significant contributions to the field of numerical analysis.

While the surname Mahoney is now found throughout the English-speaking world, its origins can be traced back to the ancient Gaelic kingdoms of Ireland, where it was borne by noble families and chieftains for centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mahoney

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Mahoney.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Mahoney was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Mahoney has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Mahoney was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mahoney, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!