Mulvey
An Irish surname meaning “servant” or “devotee” of a noble one.
The #8,389 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 78,262 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Mulvey is an Anglicized Irish surname from Maolmhiadhaigh. The first element, maol, often meant “servant,” “follower,” or “devotee” in Gaelic names; the second element is usually explained as miadhach, “noble” or “honourable.” Taken together, the name is commonly understood as “servant of the noble one” or “devotee of the noble.”
History
The surname is traditionally associated with County Leitrim, especially the Mohill area, and older Irish genealogical works note it there as an established family name. Historical spellings and related forms show the usual Anglicizing of Irish Gaelic names, with modern Mulvey becoming the standard English form. In Ireland it has remained most closely associated with the northwest, though it is now found more widely through emigration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Irish onomastic writers linked the name to the Gaelic element maol, which appears in many other Irish surnames beginning with Mul- or Mal- in Anglicized form.
From the historical record
“servant, etc. + the genit. of mean, little] MULVEY"! (Celt.) Servant or Disciple of MULVY J MiADHACH = the Noble [Ir. Maolmhiadhaigh (mh as v, dh mute) — maol, servant, &c. -|- the genit. ol miadhach, noble, honourable] MUMBYT (Scand.) Bel. to Mumby (Lines), lyiUISBY J 13th cent. Mumby, Munhy = (prob.)”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)