Mooney as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Mooney

What is the meaning of the name Mooney ?

The baby name Mooney is a Unisex name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced MOO-nee (IPA: /ˈmuːni/).

Mooney is Irish in Origin.

Mooney is an Irish surname-turned-given name, from the Gaelic Ó Maonaigh, meaning descendant of Maonach. The personal name Maonach derives from maoin, “wealth, treasure,” hence the sense of “wealthy” or “prosperous.” Several unrelated Irish families bore Ó Maonaigh in different regions, which helped the surname become widespread. As a first name, Mooney emerged in the English-speaking world through the 19th–20th-century custom of adopting family surnames as given names. Any lunar overtones come from English sound-alike moon, not from its Gaelic root.

Variants and related forms include O’Mooney (older style), Moone, Moony, and the cognate anglicizations Meaney and Meany, all tracing back to Ó Maonaigh in certain areas. The original Gaelic forms are Ó Maonaigh and Uí Mhaonaigh (genitive). Rarely, the given-name Maonach appears in Irish records. Today Mooney is used primarily for boys but can be unisex, valued for its brisk sound and Irish heritage.