2000
#968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,953
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.22
Uncommon Last name
Mooney
An Irish surname derived from Ó Moonaigh, meaning "descendant of Moonaigh" (a personal name of unknown meaning).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 36,457 Americans carry the last name Mooney. That puts it at #1,082 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.64 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,402 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mooney surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Mooney with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
36K
1 in 9,402
Census rank
#1,082
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
32K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,792 bearers of the surname Mooney in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.64 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1082nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mooney, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mooney
Among Census respondents with the surname Mooney, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Mooney bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Mooney surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.7% · 27,889
- Black or African American4.2% · 1,335
- Two or more races3.7% · 1,163
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 997
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 229
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 179
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mooney
Mooney appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 33,555
+602 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 11.38
Rank movement Down 65 places
2020
#1,082
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,792
-1,763 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 10.64
Rank movement Down 49 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #968 | 32,953 | 12.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,033 | 33,555 | 11.38 | +602 bearers (+1.8%) | Down 65 places |
| 2020 | #1,082 | 31,792 | 10.64 | -1,763 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 49 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Mooney surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,033 | #1,082 | -4.7% |
| Count | 33,555 | 31,792 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 11.38 | 10.64 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mooney bearers went from 33,555 to 31,792 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 49 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,033 to #1,082.
FAQ
Mooney surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mooney?
Name Census estimates that about 36,457 living Americans carry the surname Mooney. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,402 residents.
How common is Mooney?
Mooney ranks #1,082 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.64 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,792 people with the surname Mooney. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (36,457), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.64 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.64 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Mooney.
Has Mooney become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mooney went from 33,555 recorded bearers to 31,792. That is a decrease of 1,763 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,033 to #1,082.
What does the Census say about the background of Mooney?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mooney, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.7%. The next largest groups are Black (4.2%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mooney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.7% (27,889 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mooney appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.7%), Black (4.2%), Two or More Races (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Mooney (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Mooney mean?
An Irish surname derived from Ó Moonaigh, meaning "descendant of Moonaigh" (a personal name of unknown meaning). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Mooney (10.64 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Mooney?
See how common the surname Mooney is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.