Stone

An Irish surname of Leinster. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 153,329 people, the 178th most common surname in the country.

Ó Maolchluiche. This family stood in Sligo Bay, Co. Cork, Co. Donegal, Co. Limerick, Co. Offaly, Co. Sligo, and Co. Westmeath.

Where the name comes from

Stone is a mishearing that stuck. Ó Maolchluiche is descendant of Maolchluiche, a gamester, and it belonged to a Sligo family who were chiefs of Cairbre, now the barony (an old land division, several parishes across) of Carbury in the north of that county, until the O'Dowds dispossessed them in the 14th century. By the 16th century the name was very scattered, found chiefly in Donegal, Westmeath, Offaly and Cork.

It is now nearly everywhere anglicised Stone, on the erroneous idea that the last part is cloiche, of a stone, when it is really cluiche, of a game. In Limerick it turned into the commoner Mulcahy instead, and in Co. Cork into Muckley. The old form survives in the name of Inishmulclohy, also called Coney Island, in Sligo Bay.

Moonlight reflecting on the sea near the Muglins lighthouse off Dalkey Island, Dublin, with the Kish light on the horizon
The Muglins by Moonlight II

Leinster, photographed

Photographs made in Leinster.

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.

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

Wicklow

The Wicklow Mountains are granite and start about 20 km from the centre of Dublin. Glendalough is a glacial valley with two lakes and a monastic site founded in the sixth century, including a round tower. Brittas Bay is about five kilometres of sand.

Forest trail through woodland at Glendalough, Co. Wicklow, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxForest Trail, Glendalough, Co. Wicklow Co. Wicklow Quiet cove at Brittas Bay with Mizen Head in the distance, Co. Wicklow, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBrittas Bay & Mizen Head, Co. Wicklow Co. Wicklow Dawn light illuminating the crags of Luggala above Lough Tay, Co. Wicklow, Ireland, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDawn, Lough Tay, Co. Wicklow Co. Wicklow Purple heather blooming across the rolling Wicklow Mountains in AugustWicklow Mountains Co. Wicklow

All Dublin prints · All Wexford prints · All Wicklow prints

Notable bearers

Sharon Stone (born 1958), actor, film producer, and model.

Oliver Stone (born 1946), actor, screenwriter, and film producer.

Richard Stone (1913-1991), economist, researcher, and statistician.

Matt Stone (born 1971), actor, screenwriter, and film producer.

Jennifer Stone (born 1993), actor, singer, and Internet celebrity.

No county is recorded for this name, so this page works from the province the figures point to rather than a single place.

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, 12 births were registered under Stone in Ireland and no county is recorded for it. Leinster holds 58 per cent of that total, which is where this page looks.

Leinster 7
Ulster 1
Connacht no figure printed
Munster no figure printed
Ireland 12