Mooney
Ó Maonaigh · descendant of Maonach
Mooney is Ó Maonaigh in Irish, said oh MWEE-nee, and means descendant of Maonach.
Maonach means wealthy. Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of Altan comes from the Donegal family, and the Gaeltacht spelling has stayed in daily use there.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Maonaigh
- His daughter: Ní Mhaonaigh
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Mhaonaigh
- The family together: Uí Mhaonaigh
Where it comes from
Offaly, Donegal and Sligo
Also spelt
Mooney, Mainey, Meeney, Moony
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.