O'Mahoomb History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name O'Mahoomb originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Mathghamhna, which is derived from the word mathghamhan, which means bear. 1 The modern Gaelic spelling is Ó Mahúna.

"Hugh Gharbh (or Hugh the Terrible), a younger brother of Laeghaire who is No. 93 on the 'O'Donaghue' (of Lough Lein) pedigree, was the ancestor of O'Mathamhna; anglicized O'Mahony and Mahony." 2

Early Origins of the O'Mahoomb family

The surname O'Mahoomb was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

"The O'Mahonys were anciently located in Cork and Kerry, where they were powerful Chiefs and sometimes styled Princes. They had several castles along the sea-coast. In County Cork an O'Mahony was Lord of Ivaugh, in the Barony of West Carbery, and an O'Mahony was Chief in Kinalea Barony. In County Kerry there was a Chief of the name in the Barony of Iveragh, and there were O'Mahonys in the Barony of Clanmaurice. The majority of persons of the name of Mahony or O'Mahony are still found in these two counties." 3

The Book of Munster clearly states: "The O'Mahony family were 'undisputed kings of Raithlean, and had a right to be kings of Cashel whenever that kingdom happened to be vacant; and from whom the Kings of Cashel had no right to demand anything except a bowing of the head.' " 2

Early History of the O'Mahoomb family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Mahoomb research. Another 179 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1014, 1639, 1679 and 1987 are included under the topic Early O'Mahoomb History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Mahoomb Spelling Variations

Lacking standardized spellings, scribes and church officials recorded people's name according to how they sounded. This practice often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname O'Mahoomb are preserved in the archival documents of the period. The various spellings of the name that were found include Mahoney, O'Mahoney, O'Mahony, Mahony and others.

Early Notables of the O'Mahoomb family

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Mahoomb Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Mahoomb family

Many Irish families boarded ships bound for North America in the middle of 19th century to escape the conditions of poverty and racial discrimination at that time. Although these immigrants often arrived in a destitute state, they went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. An inquiry into many immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants to North America bearing the O'Mahoomb family name: Cornelius, Daniel, Denis, James, Jeremiah, John, Mary, Michael, Patrick, Peggy, Thomas, Timothy and William Mahoney, who all arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1860.

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
Matheson, Robert E., Special Report on Surnames in Ireland with Notes as to Numeric Strength, Derivation, Ethnology, and Distribution. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1894. Print