Moynihan is a surname of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

origin. Recorded in several spellings forms including Moynihan, Monahan, Monaghan, Monaham, Minihane, Minihan, and probably others, this is an Irish surname of great antiquity. It originates from the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

''Ó Muimhneacháin'', which literally translates as "male descendant of the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

man". The surname is most popular in Counties

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

, which form part of the province of Munster. The modern spellings are usually Moynihan and Monaghan, the spelling in the 16th century being generally recorded as Minighane, and regarded as the principal surname of West Cork. Michael and Mortimer Moynihan were famous rebels in the late 16th century, and hailed from

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administr ...

. Several of the name were famine immigrants into

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, who embarked from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on the ship ''Hampden'' bound for that port on December 8, 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Teag Ó Muimhneacháin, dated 1659, in the Barony of

Tulla Tulla () is a market town in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated in the east of the county, on the R462 and near its junction with the R352, 18km from Ennis. Etymology Tulla is generally translated as ''An Tulach'', meaning "round hill". ...

, during the reign of

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

, Lord Protector, between 1658 and 1660. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.SurnameDB - Moynihan History
/ref>

People

Antony Moynihan, 3rd Baron Moynihan Antony Patrick Andrew Cairne Berkeley Moynihan, 3rd Baron Moynihan, 3rd Baronet of Carr Manor (2 February 1936 – 24 November 1991) was a British hereditary peer. He lived a playboy lifestyle and married five times. After multiple charges of f ...

, British hereditary peer *

Bobby Moynihan Bobby Moynihan (born January 31, 1977) is an American actor, comedian and writer who was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 2008 until 2017. He also voiced Louie Duck on Disney's ''DuckTales'' from 2017 to 2021, Panda in ''We Bare Be ...

, American actor, comedian, and writer *Brandon Moynihan, actor who plays

Captain Obvious Captain Obvious is part of an American expression demonstrating a lapalissade It may also refer to: * Captain Obvious (advertising character), a fictional character in Hotels.com advertisements *Captain Obvious, a character on '' The Shebang'', ...

Brian Moynihan Brian Thomas Moynihan (born October 9, 1959) is an American investment banker, businessman and the chairman and CEO of Bank of America. He joined the board of directors, following his promotion to president and CEO in 2010. Early life and educat ...

, American businessman *

Colin Moynihan, 4th Baron Moynihan Colin Berkeley Moynihan, 4th Baronet, 4th Baron Moynihan (born 13 September 1955) is a British Olympic silver medalist, businessman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, and sports administrator. Lord Moynihan served as ...

, British politician and rower *

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...

(1927–2003), American politician, sociologist, and diplomat * Donald P. Moynihan, Irish-American political scientist * Dean Moynihan, developer of the video game '' One Chance'' *

James Michael Moynihan James Michael Moynihan (July 6, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the ninth Bishop of Syracuse. Biography James Moynihan was born in Rochester, New York, to Michael Joseph and Carolyn Elizabeth ...

(1932–2017), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church *

Jesse Moynihan Jesse Moynihan (born January 4, 1978) is an American artist, animator, composer and director. He is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time'' and as the creator of the graphic novel ' ...

, American artist, composer and director *

Johnny Moynihan John Moynihan (born 29 October 1946, Phibsboro) is an Irish folk singer, based in Dublin. He is often credited with introducing the bouzouki into Irish music in the mid-1960s. Music career Sweeney's Men Known as "The Bard of Dalymount", he w ...

, Irish folk singer *

Jon Moynihan Jonathan Patrick Moynihan OBE (born 21 June 1948) is a British businessman and venture capitalist, who served as the CEO and executive chairman of PA Consulting Group. Early life Moynihan was born on 21 June 1948 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, E ...

, British businessman and venture capitalist *

Maurice Moynihan Maurice Gerard Moynihan, (14 December 1902 – 21 August 1999) was an Irish economist and civil servant who served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland from 1960 to 1969. He was also a co-drafter of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, ...

, Irish economist and civil servant *

Michael Moynihan (author) Michael Moynihan is an American author and the nephew of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former Senator (Democrat) from New York.

, American author *

Michael Moynihan (Cork politician) Michael Moynihan (born 12 January 1968) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North-West constituency since the 1997 general election. Moynihan was born in Cork in 1968, but is a native of Kiskeam ...

(born 1968), Irish Fianna Fáil politician *

Michael Moynihan (Kerry politician) Michael Moynihan (17 June 1917 – 27 June 2001) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister of State at the Department of Trade, Commerce and Tourism from 1982 to 1987. He served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial ...

(1917–2001), Irish Labour Party politician *

Michael C. Moynihan Michael Christopher Moynihan (born August 24, 1974) is an American journalist, National Correspondent for ''Vice News'' and co-host of ''The Fifth Column'' podcast. He was previously the cultural news editor for '' The Daily Beast/ Newsweek'', ...

, American journalist * Michael J. Moynihan, American musician and journalist *

P. H. Moynihan Patrick Henry Moynihan (September 25, 1869 – May 20, 1946) was an American businessman and politician from Chicago, Illinois. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was most notable for his service representing the Illinois' 2nd c ...

, former United States Congressman from Illinois *

Rebecca Moynihan Rebecca Moynihan (born 11 December 1981) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Senator for the Administrative Panel since April 2020. She is the party's spokesperson on Housing, Local Government, and Heritage. She previously serv ...

, Irish Labour Party politician *

Robert Moynihan Robert Moynihan is the founding editor of ''Inside the Vatican'' magazine, a journal on Church and world affairs. Education He obtained his B.A. in English from Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude. He later received his Ph.D. ...

, editor of ''Inside the Vatican'' magazine *

Tim Moynihan Timothy Anthony Moynihan (September 23, 1907 – April 4, 1952) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally for two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Cardinals. Moynihan played as a center at t ...

(1907–1952), American football player and coach * Timothy Moynihan (1941–2020), American politician

References

{{Reflist Surnames Anglicised Irish-language surnames Surnames of Irish origin

People

See also

References