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

Mulrooney, 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 Mulrooney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mulrooney in America

Mulrooney is the 22978th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mulrooney surname appeared 1,113 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 Mulrooney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mulrooney 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 Mulrooney

The surname Mulrooney is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic Ó Maolruanaidh, which means "descendant of the servant or devotee of Ruanaidh." Ruanaidh was an Irish personal name, itself derived from the Old Norse name Rögnvaldr, meaning "ruler's counselor." The name is believed to have originated in the 11th century among the O'Mulroney sept, a branch of the powerful O'Brien clan from County Clare.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions an Aedh O'Mulrooney in the year 1201. In the 16th century, the Mulrooneys were among the principal families of the Barony of Inchiquin in County Clare, owning lands in the parish of Kilmurry-Ibrickane.

The name is also found in various historical records, such as the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns, which mention a pardon granted to Teige Oge Mulrooney in 1583. The surname has several spelling variations, including Mulrooney, Mulroney, Mulroony, and Mulroony, reflecting the difficulties in transliterating Irish names into English orthography.

Notable individuals with the surname Mulrooney include:

1. Sir James Mulrooney (1836-1904), an Irish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Parliament of Victoria.
2. John Mulrooney (1833-1916), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of New York City from 1894 to 1897.
3. Michael Mulrooney (1836-1921), an Irish Jesuit priest and educator who co-founded Clongowes Wood College in County Kildare, Ireland.
4. William Mulrooney (1795-1870), an Irish-born Australian landowner and politician who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
5. Patrick Mulrooney (1860-1942), an Irish-born American baseball player who played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings in the late 19th century.

While the surname Mulrooney is relatively uncommon outside of Ireland and areas with large Irish diasporas, it has a rich history and can be traced back to the medieval period in County Clare, where it was associated with influential families and landowners.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mulrooney

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

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

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

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