Gaelic sept

Moynihan

Ó Muimhneacháin

Also: Minihane, Minihan

“descendant of the Munsterman”

🏔 Kerry · Ciarraí 🏔 Cork · Corcaigh Source: Wikipedia ↗ Source: Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames (1923) ↗

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

The story

Muimhneachán is, literally, the Munsterman — which makes the name a puzzle, since you would hardly be called that at home. Woulfe answers it: there are two families, and the older is a Uí Fiachrach family in Erris in Mayo, where a Munsterman would indeed be worth naming, and where the surname is sometimes translated outright as Munster. The second is the Kerry and west Cork one, around Kilgarvan and the Sliabh Luachra country, where the name is almost universally Moynihan.

Their world Around 1400 — 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 Muimhneacháin
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Muimhneacháin — 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 Moynihan an Irish name?

Moynihan 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 →

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Buckley · Cork, Kerry Cronin · Cork, Kerry Culloty · Kerry, Cork Díaz · Cork, Kerry Dowling · Cork, Kerry Downey · Cork, Kerry Foley · Kerry, Cork Galvin · Kerry, Cork Kelleher · Cork, Kerry McCarthy · Cork, Kerry O'Donoghue · Kerry, Cork O'Mahony · Cork, Kerry O'Sullivan · Cork, Kerry Riordan · Cork, Kerry

Quick answers

Is Moynihan an Irish name?

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

What does the surname Moynihan mean?

Moynihan (Irish: Ó Muimhneacháin) means “descendant of the Munsterman”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Moynihan from?

The historic homeland of the Moynihan name is Kerry, Cork. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Moynihan?

Ó Muimhneacháin. Related spellings: Minihane, Minihan.

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

Not your spelling? Try the full A–Z. Know more about the Moynihan name? Add to the story.