The Molloy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,238 people carried this name — #4,868 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,800 people counted. That is up 4% from 6,986 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Molloy surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Maolmhuaidh (“descendant of Maolmhuadh”), a personal name composed of maol (“chieftain”) + muadh (“noble, big”). It could also be an Anglicized form of Ó Maolmhaodhóg (“descendant of the servant of (Saint) Maodhóg”); compare Logue.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Molloy» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 153 births for the Molloy name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 6,800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 26 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin, Galway, Mayo, King's, and Donegal.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 63
Connacht 45
Ulster 37
Munster 8

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 71 people named Molloy live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 71

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

22 people named Molloy live in Switzerland.

They live in 7 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Basel-Landschaft.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Basel-Landschaft 4
Bern 3
Basel-Stadt 3
Geneva 3
Glarus 3
Solothurn 3
Zurich 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Scotland’s registers today

Molloy was recorded 23 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1041st most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 30. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Molloy in American newspapers,
1871–1901.

Newspaper page from Memphis Daily Appeal carrying the name Molloy
Memphis Daily Appeal 1871-05-05
Newspaper page from Weekly Puget Sound Argus carrying the name Molloy
Weekly Puget Sound Argus 1887-04-07
Newspaper page from The Silver State carrying the name Molloy
The Silver State 1901-06-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Molloy in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1990s.

43,503 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Molloy. The most, 7,894, date from the 1910s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Western Australia, at 2.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 13,265
Western Australia 9,212
Queensland 8,912
Victoria 7,271
South Australia 2,515
Tasmania 2,128
ACT (Canberra) 102
Northern Territory 10

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Molloy.

Who carried it

People named Molloy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Georgiana Molloy
    Georgiana Molloy 1805–1843 · botanical collector
  • James Lynam Molloy
    James Lynam Molloy 1837–1909 · composer
  • Emma Barrett Molloy
    Emma Barrett Molloy 1839–1907 · journalist
  • Hugh Molloy
    Hugh Molloy 1841–1922
  • Thomas Molloy
    Thomas Molloy 1852–1938 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Emma Barrett Molloy: Digitized by Michiana's Womens Leaders, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 172 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Molloy,
in the records of 9 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States3,880 records

3,880 records of the Molloy name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1,340
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,128
  • Other U.S. records 1,412
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John L. Molloy

    Born 1918 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; office clerk from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1975, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Joseph J. Molloy

    Born 1898 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; typesetter from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Molloy

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool, aged 20; servant. From Mayo, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 3,880 records for Molloy in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,529 records

1,529 records of the Molloy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 647
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 252
  • Other Australian records 630
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Ann Molloy

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Earl Grey, sailing from Kingston in 1849. Native of Westmeath. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1852. Married 1852 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 20.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Margaret Molloy

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Martin Luther, sailing from Dublin in 1852. Native of Galway. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Michael Molloy

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the North Briton, sailing from Dublin in 1842. Native of Kings. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,529 records for Molloy in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Ireland121 records

121 records of the Molloy name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Molloy

    Died 1961, aged 75; buried at Lettermore Leitir Móir, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Molloy

    Died 1864, aged 65; buried at Athenry Heritage Centre, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Julie Molloy

    Died 1987, aged 36; buried at Glenamaddy (New), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 121 records for Molloy in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada78 records

78 records of the Molloy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 50
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 10
  • Other Canadian records 18
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Shelagh Veronica Molloy

    Buried in 1984 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 20.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Doris Molloy

    Buried in 1984 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 73.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record George J. Molloy

    Died 1876 in Campbell Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 78 records for Molloy in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

New Zealand48 records

48 records of the Molloy name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 35
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 9
  • Other New Zealand records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Terence Molloy

    Died 1999, aged 78; buried at Avonhead Memorial Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Henry Molloy

    Buried in 1955 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 86.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ruth Elvy Molloy

    Died 1998, aged 88; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 48 records for Molloy in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

United Kingdom27 records

27 records of the Molloy name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 14
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 9
  • Stirling Council burial records 4
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Molloy

    Died 1990, aged 74; buried at St Thomas Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Austin Molloy

    Buried in 1827 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 27.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Molloy

    Died 1902, aged 53; buried at Logie Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 27 records for Molloy in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands4 records

4 records of the Molloy name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Sophie Mildred Molloy

    Died 1911 in Utrecht, aged 50.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Sophie Mildrea Molloy

    In the population register of Utrecht; born in Walmer, England.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Molloy in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Molloy name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Roger Desire Molloy

    Born 1910 in Paris; died 1991 in Joué-lès-Tours (Indre-et-Loire).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 2 records for Molloy in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Molloy name in Belgium Belgian population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jeanne JosephineHenriette Nicole Molloy

    In the population register of Aalst; born 1876 in St Josse Ten Noode.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Molloy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Molloy is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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