Gaelic sept

Molloy

Ó Maolmhuaidh

Also: O'Molloy, Mulloy

“descendant of Maolmhuadh, 'noble chief'”

🏔 Offaly · Uíbh Fhailí 🏔 Roscommon · Ros Comáin

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

Princes of Fir Cheall in Offaly, entitled (so the old books say) to keep the High King's hounds. The bogs of their country hid Ireland's finest medieval book shrines.

Their world Around 1450 — The Gaelic Resurgence. Plague, absentee landlords and Gaelic recovery shrink English Ireland to a fortified strip around Dublin.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Maolmhuaidh
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Maolmhuaidh — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on

Find this form in the Irish-to-English index → · What Ó and Mac actually mean

Is Molloy an Irish name?

Molloy is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Molloy”

Molloy or O'Molloy is an Irish surname, anglicised from Ó Maolmhuaidh, maolmhuadh meaning 'Proud Chieftain'. They were part of the southern Uí Néill, the southern branch of the large tribal grouping claiming descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages, the fifth-century king who supposedly kidnapped St Patrick to Ireland. They held power over a large part of what is now County Offaly, where the surname is still very common.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Flanagan · Roscommon, Offaly O'Connor · Roscommon, Offaly Behan · Offaly Brennan · Roscommon Carroll · Offaly Carty · Roscommon Colgan · Offaly Conlan · Roscommon Corcoran · Offaly Coughlan · Offaly Dempsey · Offaly Dillon · Roscommon Dolan · Roscommon Donnellan · Roscommon

Quick answers

Is Molloy an Irish name?

Molloy is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó Maolmhuaidh.

What does the surname Molloy mean?

Molloy (Irish: Ó Maolmhuaidh) means “descendant of Maolmhuadh, 'noble chief'”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Molloy from?

The historic homeland of the Molloy name is Offaly, Roscommon. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Molloy?

Ó Maolmhuaidh. Related spellings: O'Molloy, Mulloy.

Looking for the Molloy family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Molloy ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

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