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

Mulvaney, 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 Mulvaney surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mulvaney in America

Mulvaney is the 9821st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mulvaney surname appeared 3,296 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mulvaney.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mulvaney 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 Mulvaney

The surname Mulvaney is of Irish origin, deriving from the Gaelic 'Ó Maolbhánaidh' which translates to 'descendant of the pale-skinned one'. This name can be traced back to County Roscommon in the province of Connacht, Ireland, where it first emerged in the 11th century.

The earliest recorded mention of the name Mulvaney appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. Here, it is recorded that a Maolbhánaidh was present at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, which saw the Irish unite to defeat a Viking invasion.

As the Mulvaneys settled across Ireland in the following centuries, various spellings emerged, including Mulvany, Mulvena, and Mulvenna. These name variants can be found in records such as the Fiants of the Tudor Reign and the Hearth Money Rolls of the 17th century.

Notable individuals with the surname Mulvaney include Redmond Mulvaney (1632-1699), an Irish Franciscan friar who was executed for his role in the Williamite War. Patrick Mulvaney (1835-1912) was a prominent Irish politician who served as a Member of Parliament for several constituencies. More recently, author Charles Mulvaney (1895-1979) penned the acclaimed novel 'The Sailor's Passage', set in his native County Mayo.

Other figures bearing the name include the American actress Kathleen Mulvaney (1913-1992), known for her roles in films such as 'The Grapes of Wrath' and 'Citizen Kane'. In the world of sports, Michael Mulvaney (born 1968) was a successful Irish rugby union player who represented his country at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

While the name Mulvaney may have evolved in its spelling over the centuries, it remains firmly rooted in its Irish heritage, with its origins dating back to the eleventh century and the ancient Gaelic kingdom of Connacht.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mulvaney

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

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

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

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