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

Mulherin, 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 Mulherin surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mulherin in America

Mulherin is the 23587th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mulherin surname appeared 1,076 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Mulherin.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mulherin 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 Mulherin

The surname Mulherin is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic name Ó Maolchatharáin, which means "descendant of Maolchatharáin". The name Maolcatharáin itself is composed of the elements "mael" meaning tonsured or bald, and "catharáin" meaning warrior or champion. This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive nickname for a bald or tonsured warrior or champion.

The name is believed to have originated in County Mayo, Ireland, where it was first found in the parish of Crossmolina. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Maolchatharáin Ó Maolchatharáin in the year 1238.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns during the reigns of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. These records document land grants and other legal transactions, indicating that members of the Mulherin family held land and property in Ireland during this period.

One notable Mulherin was Diarmuid Mulherin, a 17th-century Irish poet and scribe who lived in County Mayo. He is known for his transcription of various Irish manuscripts, preserving important works of literature and history.

Another significant figure was Reverend James Mulherin, born in 1837, who was a prominent Catholic priest and educator in Ireland. He served as the President of St. Patrick's College in Cavan and played a significant role in the education of Irish youth.

In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the 1830 census, where a Patrick Mulherin is listed as living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Other notable individuals with the surname Mulherin include John Mulherin (1889-1972), an American baseball player who played for the St. Louis Browns and the New York Yankees in the early 20th century, and Michael Mulherin (born 1936), an American actor best known for his roles in television shows like MAS*H and The Rockford Files.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mulherin

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

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

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