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MacMahon - originally Mac Mathghamha, but in contemporary Irish, Mac Mathúna, is one of the best known and distinguished surnames in Ireland. It has to be said that some Mahons may be really MacMahons who simply dropped the prefix. However, as we will see later, most Mahons are of different stock. The name is patronymic in nature, from the personal name Mathghamhuin, which itself is taken from an old Irish word for a bear.