Surname Mulvihill - Meaning and Origin
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Mulvihill: What does the surname Mulvihill mean?
The surname Mulvihill is of Irish origin and derives from the Gaelic "Ó Maoil Mhichíl," which translates to "descendant of the devotee of St. Michael." The "Mul" part comes from "maol" meaning 'bald' or 'tonsured one', often referring to a servant or a devout follower. "Mhichíl" is the genitive case of "Michael". Therefore, a person with the last name Mulvihill is understood to have ancestors who were devoted followers of Saint Michael. It is most prevalent in Clare, Kerry, and Limerick counties in Ireland. Like many surnames, it has gone through spelling alterations over the centuries, and other versions of the surname include Mulvihil, Mulvihille, and Mulvihylle among others. As of today, many people of Irish descent across the world bear this surname.
Order DNA origin analysisMulvihill: Where does the name Mulvihill come from?
The last name Mulvihill is of Irish origin, and can still be found throughout Ireland today. It is not as common as some other traditional Irish surnames, like Murphy or Kelly, but is more widespread than many of the less popular Irish surnames.
Today, the surname Mulvihill can be found in many parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The name first arrived in the United States during the 19th century with the Irish emigrant wave. Since then, the surname has continued to spread throughout the country.
In the United States specifically, the surname can be found scattered across the entirety of the country, predominantly in the midwest and northeast. There are large concentrations of Mulvihill families in the state of Ohio, Illinois, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The deleted words of other parts of the world like Canada, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand may also be found to have large populations of the Mulvihill surname. In Canada, the surname is specifically concentrated in Ontario, specifically in the towns of Brantford and Sarnia.
Overall, the last name Mulvihill is still quite common in Ireland and can be found scattered across the entire globe. It is one of the thousands of Irish surnames that still exist in the world today.
Variations of the surname Mulvihill
Mulvihill is an Irish surname, and is primarily found in County Kerry, Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic names, Maol Mhuilich and Ó Maoil Mhuilleach, which both mean ‘devotee of Saint Molua (or Moluag)’. Molua was an Irish saint who founded several churches in County Kerry and Western Scotland.
Variants of the surname Mulvihill include Mulvil, Mulville, Melville, Melvil, Milville, Mulvihil, Mulvehill, Mulvhill, Millvil and Mullvil.
The surname is also found with different spellings in Scotland (Mulvill, Mulvile and Mullville) and Canada (Mulville, Melville and Milville).
In Ireland, variants of the surname are O’Maolmhuille, MacMaolmhuille and Maollmhuille.
In Scotland the variants include MacMillvil, MacMilvil and Macmilliam.
In Canada, the variants are Mulvehy, Mulvey, Mulveye, Mulvee and Melvey.
The variations of the surname develops over time through the assimilation of cultures and languages. This has led to the creation of different spellings and surnames.
Famous people with the name Mulvihill
- Cara Mulvihill, American television host, reporter, and producer
- Martin Mulvihill, American reporter and anchor
- Deborah Mulvihill, Irish author, pianist, and teacher
- Patrick Mulvihill, Australian Anglican priest
- Timothy Mulvihill, American Roman Catholic bishop
- Laura Mulvihill, American film producer
- Ruth Mulvihill, Irish flautist and pedagogue
- Hannah Mulvihill, English footballer
- Hermione Mulvihill, Irish-American equestrian
- Eilis Mulvihill, Irish sculptor and artist