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

Mooney, 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 Mooney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mooney in America

Mooney is the 1033rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mooney surname appeared 33,555 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Mooney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mooney 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 Mooney

The surname Mooney is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic words "O'Muanaí" or "O'Mónadhaigh" meaning "descendant of Mónadhach." Mónadhach was a personal name derived from the word "món," meaning "boggy place" or "peat bog." This suggests that the original bearers of the name may have come from or lived near a bog or marshy area.

The Mooney surname can be traced back to the 11th century in Ireland. It was particularly prevalent in counties such as Munster, Leinster, and Connacht. In some early records, the name appeared with variations like Moneye, Mownay, and O'Money.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Mooney surname is in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It refers to Maonaigh O'Maonaigh, a chieftain who lived in the 12th century.

Another notable early reference is in the Domesday Book of 1086, where the name is recorded as "Monegai" in the county of Derbyshire, England. This suggests that some bearers of the name may have migrated from Ireland to England during this period.

In the 16th century, the Mooney family was prominent in County Leitrim, Ireland. One notable member was Fergal Mooney (c. 1560-1630), a Catholic bishop and philosopher who was known for his opposition to Protestant rule in Ireland.

In the 17th century, James Mooney (1597-1667) was an Irish Catholic priest who served as a chaplain in the Confederate Wars in Ireland.

During the 18th century, the Mooney surname spread to other parts of the world through Irish immigration. For instance, Jeremiah Mooney (1721-1789) was an Irish-born merchant and landowner who settled in Pennsylvania, USA.

In the 19th century, James Mooney (1861-1921) was an American ethnographer and author who studied the customs and traditions of Native American tribes, particularly the Cherokee.

Throughout history, the Mooney surname has also been associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Moneygall in County Offaly and Moneymore in County Derry.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mooney

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

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 Mooney 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 Mooney 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 Mooney was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mooney, 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!