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

Mulvihill, 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 Mulvihill surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mulvihill in America

Mulvihill is the 10099th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mulvihill surname appeared 3,189 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 Mulvihill.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mulvihill 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 Mulvihill

The surname Mulvihill is of Irish origin, specifically from the Gaelic territories of what is now County Kerry and parts of County Limerick. It is believed to have emerged sometime in the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the old Irish words "muil" meaning "summit" or "hilltop" and "bhile" meaning "ancient tree." Thus, Mulvihill likely referred to someone who lived near or owned property with an old tree atop a hill.

Early recordings of the name can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The name appeared in various spellings such as Ó Maoilbhile, Ó Maoilibhile, and Ó Muilbhile. These variations reflect the difficulty of transliterating Irish names into English at the time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was Diarmaid Ó Muilbhile, a scribe and poet who lived in County Kerry in the 15th century. Another notable bearer of the name was Domhnall Ó Maoilibhile, a chieftain of the Clann Mhaoilbhile, a branch of the Uí Fhloinn dynasty, who fought against the English in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name was anglicized to its modern spelling of Mulvihill. During this period, the Mulvihills were among the many Irish families who lost their lands as a result of the Cromwellian conquest and the subsequent plantation of Ireland by English and Scottish settlers.

A prominent figure from this era was Donough Mulvihill, a landowner and rebel who participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1641. He was later captured and hanged in 1642 for his role in the uprising.

In the 18th century, the Mulvihills were found primarily in County Kerry, with some also residing in neighboring counties such as Limerick and Cork. During this time, the name Mulvihill appeared in various records, including the Petty Census of 1659 and the Hearth Money Rolls of the late 17th century.

Notable Mulvihills from the 19th century include Father Patrick Mulvihill, a Catholic priest and author who wrote extensively on the history and culture of County Kerry, and James Mulvihill, a railroad engineer and surveyor who worked on the construction of several major railway lines in Ireland and England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mulvihill

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

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

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