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| Origins Available: |
| | Ireland |
The Irish surname Mulherin comes from the Gaelic Ó Maolciarain or Ó Maolchiarain, a patronymic, which means a descendant of a devotee of St. Kieran or Ciarán of Saigir. 1
The Mulhern(e) variant which is the most common today, claims descent through the O'Connor Faley pedigree, on the Heremon side. The name literally means "one who is dark grey." 2
The surname Mulherin was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.
Mulhern(e) is typically an Ulster form of Mulkerrin which is a "County Roscommon family who were erenaghs of Ardcarne and produced many notable ecclesiastics." 1 Of note was Denis O’Mulkerrin (died 1224), Bishop of Elphin, and Maelisa O’Mulkerrin (died 1197), Bishop of Clogher.
Another source notes the family descend from Mulheeran of Offaley, specifically Maolciaran, "ciaran." 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mulherin research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1172 is included under the topic Early Mulherin History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish names were rarely spelled consistently in the Middle Ages. Spelling variations of the name Mulherin dating from that time include Mulhearn, Mulheran, Mulherin, Mulhern, Mulherne and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Mulherin Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
To escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, thousands of Irish left their homeland in the 19th century. These migrants typically settled in communities throughout the East Coast of North America, but also joined the wagon trains moving out to the Midwest. Ironically, when the American War of Independence began, many Irish settlers took the side of England, and at the war's conclusion moved north to Canada. These United Empire Loyalists, were granted land along the St. Lawrence River and the Niagara Peninsula. Other Irish immigrants settled in Newfoundland, the Ottawa Valley, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, however, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America and Australia. Many of those numbers, however, did not live through the long sea passage. These Irish settlers to North America were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. Irish settlers made an inestimable contribution to the building of the New World. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Mulherin or a variant listed above, including: