Mulkey surname origin?

Question

My friend asked me to help her try to find the origin of mulkey...shes heard irish, native american.. anybody know? her father has long passed away and has no other family that knows for sure. thanks.

Answer 1

Surname: Mulcahy

This notable Munster surname is an Anglicized form of the Old Gaelic "O'Maolchathaigh", descendant of Maolchathaigh, an ancient male given name composed of the elements "maol", from the pagan Irish "mal", chief, and related to the Welsh "mail", hero, with "cathaigh", the genitive of "cathach", warlike. Traditionally, Irish family names are taken from the heads of tribes, revered elders, or some illustrious warrior, and are usually prefixed by "Mac", denoting "son of", or "O", grandson, male descendant of. The "O'Maolchathaigh" sept is said to have originated in south Tipperary, and 17th Century records show that the name was numerous in that county, as well as in the neighbouring counties of Waterford, Limerick and Cork. Among the several notable bearers of the name were Denis Dowling Mulcahy (1833 - 1920), Fenian and author, and General Richard Mulcahy (born 1886), close associate of Michael Collins in the War of Independence, and subsequently a minister in several Irish governments. Pat Mulcahy, a labourer, aged 20 yrs., who embarked from Liverpool on the ship "Adirondack" bound for New York on September 1st 1846, was an Irish famine immigrant into that port. . The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of O'Maolchathaigh of south Tipperary, which was dated 1659, in Petty's "Census of all-Ireland", during the reign of Richard Cromwell, known as "The Lord Protector", 1658 - 1660.

Answer 2

Mulkis means fool in Lithuanian, Mulkiai would be fools. Looks close enough to me

Answer 3

Mulkey Name Meaning and History

Irish: variant of Mulcahy - Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Maolchathaigh ‘descendant of the devotee of (Saint) Cathach’, a personal name meaning ‘warlike’.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mulcahey, O'Mulcahey, Mulcahy, O'Mulcahy, Mulcahee, Mulkey, McMulkey and many more.

http://www.ancestry.com/facts/mulkey-fam...

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This site claims the name Mulkey can be either of Irish or German origin.

Mulkey - Irish

First found in county Tipperary.  Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: John and Mary Mulcahy settled in Boston in 1849; along with Patrick; David, Denis, John, Thomas, Timothy, William Mulcahy all arrived in Pennsylvania between 1800 and 1860.

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mulkey, Molle, Mollenkopf, Mollenschädel, Mol, von Moll and many more.

Mulkey - German

First found in Konstanz, at the southern border of the Baden-Wuerttemberg region.  Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Christopher Moll and his wife Anna Catharina, who emigrated from the Palatinate to New York in 1710 with their children Conrad and Margaret, Bartel Moll, who settled in Philadelphia in 1732.

http://search.swyrich.com/searchresults....

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Mulkey - Cherokee

Jonathan Mulkey, was married to Maria Ross, sister to Chief John Ross.. His son, Lewis Mulkey's application, gives Jonathan's Cherokee name as Unurti. Jonathan's age, parentage, siblings, etc. are unknown. He and Maria had three sons and one daughter. Maria died on the way to Okla in 1838 and the daughter, Mollie, died in a fire ca 1852. The three sons are listed on the Cherokee Indian rolls

http://www.scvcamp469-nbf.com/Cherokee.h...