NameCensus.

UK surname

Mallon

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Máoil Eoin," meaning "descendant of a devotee of Saint John."

In the 1881 census there were 489 people recorded with the Mallon surname, ranking it #6,883 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 2,279, ranked #2,851, up from #6,883 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Govan Combination, Toxteth Park and Manchester. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Port Glasgow Mid, East and Central, Fauldhouse and Toryglen and Oatlands.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Mallon is 2,351 in 2010. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 366.1%.

1881 census count

489

Ranked #6,883

Modern count

2,279

2016, ranked #2,851

Peak year

2010

2,351 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Mallon had 489 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #6,883 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 2,279 in 2016, ranked #2,851.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 799 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Established but Challenged.

Mallon surname distribution map

The map shows where the Mallon surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Mallon surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Mallon over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 204 #10,250
1861 historical 360 #7,095
1881 historical 489 #6,883
1891 historical 576 #6,614
1901 historical 799 #5,654
1911 historical 504 #7,787
1997 modern 2,094 #2,942
1998 modern 2,195 #2,922
1999 modern 2,228 #2,907
2000 modern 2,211 #2,912
2001 modern 2,200 #2,870
2002 modern 2,300 #2,806
2003 modern 2,177 #2,889
2004 modern 2,209 #2,857
2005 modern 2,212 #2,818
2006 modern 2,160 #2,878
2007 modern 2,201 #2,864
2008 modern 2,223 #2,858
2009 modern 2,267 #2,870
2010 modern 2,351 #2,838
2011 modern 2,274 #2,887
2012 modern 2,232 #2,885
2013 modern 2,264 #2,892
2014 modern 2,297 #2,874
2015 modern 2,300 #2,838
2016 modern 2,279 #2,851

Geography

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Where Mallons are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Govan Combination, Toxteth Park, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Port Glasgow Mid, East and Central, Fauldhouse, Toryglen and Oatlands, Castlemilk and Knowsley. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Govan Combination Lanark
2 Toxteth Park Lancashire
3 Manchester Lancashire
4 Liverpool Lancashire
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Port Glasgow Mid, East and Central Inverclyde
2 Fauldhouse West Lothian
3 Toryglen and Oatlands Glasgow City
4 Castlemilk Glasgow City
5 Knowsley 001 Knowsley

Forenames

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First names often paired with Mallon

These lists show first names that appear often with the Mallon surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Mallon

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Mallon, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce

Group

Established but Challenged

Nationally, the Mallon surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Established but Challenged, within Semi- and Un-Skilled Workforce. This does not mean every Mallon household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Many households in these neighbourhoods comprise separated or divorced single parents with dependent children. Residents are typically born in the UK, and these neighbourhoods have relatively few members of ethnic minorities. The prevalence of children, their parents and those at or above normal retirement age, suggests neighbourhood structures may be long-established. Levels of unpaid care are high, and long-term disability is more common than in the Supergroup as a whole. Use of the social rented sector is common, often in terraced houses. Levels of overcrowding are above the Supergroup average. Unemployment is high, while those in work are employed in elementary occupations such as caring, leisure and customer services. Many residents have low level qualifications. Neighbourhood concentrations of this Group are found in the South Wales Valleys, Belfast, Londonderry and the Central Lowlands of Scotland.

Wider pattern

Living in terraced or semi-detached houses, residents of these neighbourhoods typically lack high levels of education and work in elementary or routine service occupations. Unemployment is above average. Residents are predominantly born in the UK, and residents are also predominantly from ethnic minorities. Social (but not private sector) rented sector housing is common. This Supergroup is found throughout the UK’s conurbations and industrial regions but is also an integral part of smaller towns.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Mallon is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Mallon is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Mallon falls in decile 1 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the more deprived end of the index.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

1
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Mallon is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Mallon, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Mallon

The surname Mallon is believed to have originated in Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name "Maolán," which means "bald" or "tonsured person." The name likely referred to a monk or someone who had taken religious orders.

Mallon is an Anglicized version of the Gaelic surname Ó Maoláin, which means "descendant of Maolán." The name can be traced back to County Donegal in Ulster, where it was particularly prevalent in the Barony of Raphoe.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mallon can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. It mentions a "Maolán Ó Máille" who was killed in 1185 during a battle between rival Irish clans.

In the 16th century, the Mallon family held lands in the parish of Taughboyne, County Donegal. During the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century, many Mallons were displaced from their ancestral lands as English and Scottish settlers arrived in the region.

Notable individuals with the surname Mallon include:

1. James Mallon (1799-1877), an Irish-born American politician who served as the 11th Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. Therese Mallon (1901-1945), an Irish actress and singer who performed in London's West End and on Broadway. 3. Michael Mallon (1934-2020), an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Donegal senior team and won an All-Ireland medal in 1963. 4. Jim Mallon (born 1948), an American professional golfer who won the 1983 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic on the PGA Tour. 5. Seamus Mallon (1936-2020), an Irish politician who served as the Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party and was a prominent figure during the Northern Ireland peace process.

The surname Mallon has been found in various spellings throughout history, including Mallen, Mallone, and Malloon, reflecting the phonetic variations in different regions of Ireland and beyond.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Mallon families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Mallon surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Lancashire leads with 203 Mallons recorded in 1881 and an index of 3.55x.

County Total Index
Lancashire 203 3.55x
Lanarkshire 80 5.13x
Durham 55 3.84x
Yorkshire 23 0.48x
Renfrewshire 20 5.36x
Cheshire 15 1.41x
Middlesex 15 0.31x
Hampshire 13 1.32x
Northumberland 11 1.53x
Cumberland 9 2.17x
Norfolk 7 0.94x
West Lothian 6 8.27x
Carmarthenshire 5 2.46x
Derbyshire 5 0.66x
Midlothian 5 0.77x
Channel Islands 4 2.80x
Dunbartonshire 2 1.54x
Perthshire 2 0.92x
Surrey 2 0.09x
Angus 1 0.22x
Berkshire 1 0.28x
Devon 1 0.10x
Isle of Man 1 1.12x
Lincolnshire 1 0.13x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.65x
Royal Navy 1 1.74x
Staffordshire 1 0.06x
Stirlingshire 1 0.56x
Suffolk 1 0.17x
Warwickshire 1 0.08x
Worcestershire 1 0.16x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Liverpool in Lancashire leads with 51 Mallons recorded in 1881 and an index of 14.69x.

Place Total Index
Liverpool 51 14.69x
Toxteth Park 26 13.43x
Manchester 25 9.72x
Govan 22 5.71x
Barony 18 4.56x
Conside Knitsley 13 116.59x
Barrow In Furness 12 15.43x
Bishopwearmouth 11 8.94x
Old Monkland 11 17.79x
Tranmere 11 28.14x
Warrington 11 16.23x
Kirkdale 10 10.40x
Alverstoke 9 25.17x
Heworth 9 31.86x
West Greenock 9 13.43x
Cadder 8 69.50x
Preston 8 5.23x
Garston 7 41.47x
Thornaby 7 39.24x
Broughton In Salford 6 11.48x
Darlington 6 10.84x
Farnworth 6 17.51x
Harrington 6 119.76x
Hedworth Monkton Jarrow 6 9.66x
Kirkham 6 79.37x
Salford 6 3.57x
St Marylebone London 6 2.33x
Uphall 6 75.19x
Bentham 5 137.36x
Brimington 5 87.26x
Byker 5 14.11x
Felton 5 446.43x
Gorbals 5 54.05x
Llanelly 5 10.93x
Rutherglen 5 21.87x
Tudhoe 5 39.87x
Bury 4 6.12x
Chester St John Baptist 4 20.92x
Edinburgh New North 4 71.17x
Glasgow 4 1.45x
Gorton 4 7.44x
Maryhill 4 13.11x
Portsea 4 2.07x
St Helier 4 8.60x
Stranton 4 8.29x
Bootle Cum Linacre 3 6.61x
Holy Trinity 3 2.61x
Kilbarchan 3 26.46x
Port Glasgow 3 16.62x
Renfrew 3 24.33x
Scarborough 3 6.91x
Shettleston 3 21.51x
Skelmersdale 3 31.48x
St Pancras London 3 0.77x
Thornton In Fylde 3 23.98x
Widnes 3 7.27x
Chorlton On Medlock 2 2.20x
Cromer 2 76.05x
Ditton 2 85.47x
Dumbarton 2 11.10x
Eastwood 2 8.70x
Kensington London 2 0.75x
Manningham 2 3.40x
Sculthorpe 2 206.19x
Seaton 2 41.32x
Shoreditch London 2 0.96x
Swaffham 2 33.17x
Battersea 1 0.56x
Beverley Parks 1 175.44x
Burnley 1 2.08x
Everton 1 0.55x
Ipswich St Margaret 1 5.02x
Lambeth 1 0.24x
Onchan 1 3.88x
Perth East Church 1 4.90x
Sandhurst 1 14.27x
St Budeaux 1 32.05x
Whitechapel London 1 2.11x
Wolsingham 1 7.65x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Mallon surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 44
Ann 15
Elizabeth 15
Margaret 13
Catherine 12
Ellen 11
Jane 10
Sarah 9
Annie 5
Bridget 3
Margt. 3
Rose 3
Anna 2
Eliz. 2
Eliza 2
Elizth. 2
Emma 2
Isabella 2
Theresa 2
Ada 1
Alice 1
Anne 1
Charlotte 1
Clara 1
Eloya 1
Frances 1
Henrietta 1
Isebella 1
Jannett 1
Jessie 1
Lena 1
Louisa 1
Lucey 1
Lucy 1
Maggie 1
Margret 1
Marion 1
Nancy 1
Rachel 1
Sar. 1
Susan 1

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Mallon surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 35
James 22
Patrick 14
Thomas 14
William 10
George 9
Charles 8
Edward 7
Joseph 6
Michael 5
Peter 5
Arthur 4
Francis 4
Henry 4
Bernard 3
Cornelius 3
Hugh 3
Lawrence 3
Robert 3
Andrew 2
Jas. 2
Mathew 2
Matthew 2
Michl. 2
Barnard 1
Barner 1
Bernd. 1
Carl 1
Daniel 1
David 1
Denis 1
Domnick 1
Edwd.John 1
Frances 1
Frederick 1
Herbert 1
Infant 1
Isaac 1
Jno. 1
Laurence 1
Pattrick 1
Paul 1
Philip 1
Richard 1
Stephen 1
Terrence 1
Thos. 1
Wm. 1

FAQ

Mallon surname: questions and answers

How common was the Mallon surname in 1881?

In 1881, 489 people were recorded with the Mallon surname. That placed it at #6,883 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Mallon surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 2,279 in 2016. That gives Mallon a modern rank of #2,851.

What does the Mallon surname mean?

An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Máoil Eoin," meaning "descendant of a devotee of Saint John."

What does the Mallon map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Mallon bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.