Mooney is a family name, which is probably predominantly derived from the Irish Ó Maonaigh, pronounced Om-weeneey. It can also be spelled Moony, Moonie, Mainey, Mauney,
Meaney and Meeney depending on the dialectic pronunciation that was anglicised.
Origins
The origin of the Moony or Mooney families is lost in antiquity. The name is derived from ''maoin'', a
Gaelic word meaning ''wealth'' or ''treasure of treasure'', hence when O'Maonaigh was anglicised to Mooney it meant ''the descendant of the wealthy one.''
According to Irish lore, the Mooney family comes from one of the largest and most noble Irish lines. They are said to be descendants of the ancient Irish King
Heremon, who, along with his brother Herber, conquered Ireland. Heremon slew his brother shortly after their invasion, took the throne for himself, and fathered a line of kings of Ireland that include
Malachi II, and
King Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Baptismal records, parish records, ancient land grants, the
Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...
, and books by
O'Hart,
McLysaght, and
O'Brien were all used in researching the history of the Mooney family name. These varied and often ancient records indicate that distant
sept
A sept is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used in both Scotland and Ireland, where it may be translated as ''sliocht'', meaning "progeny" or "seed", which may indicate the descendants of a person ...
s of the name arose in several places throughout Ireland. The most known and most numerous sept came from the county of
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...
. The members of this sept were from Chieftain Monach, son of Ailill Mor, Lord of
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
, who was descended from the Kings of
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...
. These family members gave their name to town lands called Ballymooney both in that county and in the neighbouring county of
Leix
County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...
.
People with the surname
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Al Mooney
Albert W. Mooney (12 April 1906 – 7 May 1986) was a self-taught American aircraft designer and early aviation entrepreneur. He and brother Arthur Mooney founded the Mooney Aircraft Company in 1929. His first production design (first flight ...
(1906–1986), aircraft designer and founder of
Mooney Airplane Company
*
Alex Mooney
Alexander Xavier Mooney (born June 7, 1971) is an American politician serving since 2015 as the U.S. representative from . A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 3rd district in the Maryland State Senate from 1999 to 2011 and is ...
(born 1971), member of Congress from West Virginia
*
Bel Mooney
Beryl Ann "Bel" Mooney (born 8 October 1946) is an English journalist and broadcaster. She currently writes a column for the ''Daily Mail'', having previously written – mainly as a columnist – for other publications including the ''Daily Mirro ...
(born 1946), English journalist and broadcaster
*
Brian Mooney (born 1966), professional football player
*
C. P. J. Mooney (1865–1926), American newspaper publisher
*
Cameron Mooney (born 1979), Australian rules footballer
*
Carol Ann Mooney
Carol Ann Mooney is the 11th president of Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana (2004–2016). She is the first lay alumna president of the college.
Life
Mooney grew up in Norwich, New York. She graduated from Saint Mary's College in ...
(fl. 1970s–2010s), president of Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana
*
Charles Mooney (born 1951), American boxer
*
Charles ("Chuck") W. Mooney Jr. (born 1947), American, the Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Professor of Law, and former interim dean, at the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and oldes ...
*
Chris Mooney (basketball) (born 1972), American basketball coach
*
Darnell Mooney (born 1997), American football player
*
Dave Mooney (born 1984), professional football player
*
Debra Mooney
Debra Mooney (born August 28, 1947) is an American character actress, best known for her role as Edna Harper on The WB drama series ''Everwood'' (2002–06). Mooney is also known for her recurring roles in ''Scandal'', ''Grey's Anatomy'' and '' ...
(born 1947), American actress
*
Edward Aloysius Mooney
Edward Aloysius Mooney (May 9, 1882 – October 25, 1958) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Detroit from 1937 until his death, and was made a cardinal in 1946.
Early life and ministry
Edward Mo ...
(1882–1958), Roman Catholic Cardinal Archbishop of Detroit, former Bishop of Rochester
*
Edward F. Mooney (born 1941), noted Kierkegaard scholar and Professor of Religion at Syracuse University
*
Francie Mooney (1922–2006), musician, fiddler
*
Hercules Mooney (1715–1800), American Revolutionary War colonel
*
James Mooney
James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the G ...
(1861–1921), anthropologist whose major works were about Native American Indians
*
Jason Mooney (disambiguation), multiple people
*
John Mooney (disambiguation), multiple people
*
Kathi Mooney (fl. 2010s–2020s), American scientist
*
Kevin Mooney
Kevin Paul Mooney (born 5 May 1962) is an English-Irish bassist and guitarist who has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, and others.
Career
Born in the Greenwich area of London, Mooney began his musical career in 1977 with the English-Ir ...
(born 1962), Irish musician
*
Kyle Mooney (born 1984), American comic actor, ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''
*
Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney (born 1944) is an American singer, poet, and artist, best known as the original vocalist for German krautrock band Can.
Biography
Mooney began singing in high school, and was a member of an a cappella vocal group known as the ''S ...
(born 1944), original lead singer of rock group Can
*
Matt Mooney (born 1997), American basketball player
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Melvin Mooney (1893–1968), American physicist, developed the Mooney viscometer and other testing equipment used in the rubber industry
*
Paschal Mooney
Paschal Canice Mooney (born 14 October 1947) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and a former member of Seanad Éireann.
A journalist and broadcaster, he was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, on the Cultural and Educational Panel. He retain ...
(born 1947), Irish politician
*
Peter Mooney (conductor) (1915–1983), Scottish educationalist and conductor (music)
*
Peter Mooney (footballer) (born 1897), English professional footballer
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Paul Mooney (writer) (1904–1939), son of James Mooney
*
Paul Mooney (comedian)
Paul Gladney (August 4, 1941 – May 19, 2021), better known by the stage name Paul Mooney, was an American comedian, writer, and actor.
He collaborated with Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Dave Chappelle, wrote for comedian Richard Pryor and the ...
(1941–2021), American comedian, writer, and actor
*
Ralph Mooney
Ralph Mooney (September 16, 1928 – March 20, 2011) was an American steel guitar player and was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the original steel guitarist in Haggard's band, the Strangers.
A native of Duncan, Okl ...
(1928–2011),
Bakersfield sound steel-guitar player who backed
Buck Owens
Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...
,
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler.
Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled a ...
and others
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Robert Mooney (1873–1953), Canadian politician
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Sean Mooney
Sean Edmund Mooney (born May 21, 1959) is an American news anchor and former World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) play-by-play announcer. He now works as an anchor for KVOA, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona and the National Wrestling Alli ...
(born 1959), sports reporter and former WWF announcer
*
Shay Mooney (fl. 2010s–2020s), singer of country duo
Dan + Shay
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
*
Shona Mooney
Shona Mooney (born c. 1984) is a Scottish fiddle player and composer.
Career
Shona Mooney was the winner of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician competition in 2006. She has appeared at international festivals such as the Tønder ...
(born c. 1984), Scottish fiddler
*
Ted Mooney (1951–2022), American author
*
Thomas Mooney
Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that ...
(1882–1942), American labour leader from San Francisco, California
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Tim Mooney (1958–2012), American musician
*
Tom Mooney (rugby league) (born 1952), Australian rugby league footballer
*
Tommy Mooney
Thomas John Mooney (born 11 August 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He made more than 600 appearances in the Football League and Premier Leaguewith 250 for Watford and more than 100 for Scarb ...
(born 1971), professional football player
*
Tony Mooney (fl. 1970s–2010s), Australian politician
*
Walter E. Mooney (1925–1990), pilot and model aircraft designer
Fictional characters
*"Albert Mooney" is also a character in the Irish folk-song "
I'll Tell Me Ma"
See also
*
Mooney (disambiguation)
References
{{surname
Surnames of Irish origin