Malone

An Irish surname of Clare, Dublin, and Wexford. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 71,286 people, the 465th most common surname in the country.

Malone is the anglicised form of three distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

Mac Giolla Eóin. This family stood in Co. Donegal and Co. Tyrone.

Ó Maoileóin, descendant of Maoleóin (servant of St. John)

Ó Maolbhloghain, descendant of Maolbhloghain. This family stood in Co. Tipperary.

Where the name comes from

Ó Maoileóin is descendant of Maoleóin, the servant of St. John, and it belonged to a distinguished ecclesiastical family at Clonmacnoise, several of whom were abbots and bishops there. In the 17th century they rose to power and influence as landed proprietors.

Anthony Malone was a celebrated figure in Irish public life about the middle of the 18th century; his nephew Richard Malone was created Baron Sunderlin in 1785, and another nephew, Edmond Malone, was the celebrated Shakesperian commentator.

Mac Giolla Eóin, son of the servant of St. John, is a scattered Ulster surname found chiefly in Donegal and Tyrone. It was often pronounced Mac Giolla lúin, which caused the last syllable to be mistaken for Luain, Monday, so the same name is also translated Monday and Munday. Ó Maolbhloghain, an old Tipperary family seated in Muscraighe Treitherne in the present barony (an old land division, several parishes across) of Clanwilliam, is a third road to Malone.

Dramatic view of the Cliffs of Moher on a windy day, Co. Clare, fine art landscape photograph by Peter Cox
Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare

The Malone counties, photographed

Clare

Clare is the Burren: bare limestone pavement where Arctic and Mediterranean plants grow side by side. The Cliffs of Moher are on the coast. Doolin and Miltown Malbay are two of the best-known traditional music towns in the country.

Moonrise, Hag's Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. ClareMoonrise, Hag's Head, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare Aerial view of the Cliffs of Moher at sunset, Co. Clare, fine art aerial photograph by Peter CoxCliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare Aerial view of O'Brien's Tower on the Cliffs of Moher bathed in warm sunset light with the Atlantic Ocean reflecting golden huesO'Brien's Tower, Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare Co. Clare Mullaghmore, the Burren, Co. ClareMullaghmore, the Burren, Co. Clare Co. Clare

Dublin

Dublin is a county as well as a city. The bay has Howth at the north end and Killiney Hill at the south, the Muglins are a pair of rocks off Dalkey, and the Dublin Mountains start about half an hour from the city centre.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizonThe Muglins by Moonlight II Co. Dublin Long exposure panoramic view of the White Rock swimming platform at Killiney Bay, Dublin, floating in misty high-tide watersThe White Rock, Killiney Bay, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin Heron fishing at dawn on the Dublin coast — fine art wildlife photograph by Peter CoxHeron, Co. Dublin Co. Dublin

Wexford

Wexford gets more sunshine than anywhere else in Ireland. Hook Head lighthouse has been working since the thirteenth century, which makes it one of the oldest in the world. The beaches on that coast, Curracloe and Rosslare among them, run for miles and are mostly empty.

Hook Lighthouse beam reflecting across calm waters at dusk, Co. Wexford — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxHook Lighthouse at Dusk, Wexford Co. Wexford Black and white panoramic of Hook Head lighthouse and wild sea under brooding skies, Co. Wexford — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxHook Head, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford Moonrise, Tramore, Co. WexfordMoonrise, Tramore, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford Long exposure of carnival Ferris wheel at night on the coast, Tramore, Co. Wexford, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxCarnival, Tramore, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford

All Clare prints · All Dublin prints · All Wexford prints

Notable bearers

Karl Malone (born 1963), actor, basketball player, and basketball coach.

Dorothy Malone (1924-2018), actor.

Moses Malone (1955-2015), basketball player and basketball coach.

Jena Malone (born 1984), actor, singer, and musician.

Mike Malone (born 1971), basketball player and basketball coach.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Williams · Davis · Edwards · Cooper · Kelly · Cox · Brooks · Wood · James · Price · Butler · Jordan

How common the name was

In 1890, 100 births were registered under Malone in Ireland, most of them in Clare, Dublin, and Wexford.

Leinster 63
Munster 17
Ulster 11
Connacht 9
Ireland 100