But according to Charles Earle Funk (and other sources), hoodlum was the accidental coinage of a newspaper reporter. In a story about a gang of ruffians led by a fellow named Muldoon, the reporter spelled the name as Noodlum to avoid reprisals. The newspaper's compositor misinterpreted the name as Hoodlum.
From http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20010327
One of the most notorious criminals of the Barbary Coast was Muldoon, who had so much muscle he was hard to arrest. The San Franciso newspaper led a campaign to help clean up the town. But rather than printing his name they put it in backwards = Noodlum. A bit obvious, the reported then changed the N to H = Hoodlum. So every time this criminal's activities were written up, it was as Hoodlum. Soon the name was synonymous with crime and illegal activities.
From http://www.factoidcentral.com/words/H.html#34
If you look really closely at the Family Name History, "dun" means fort. My uncle, also a Tom Muldoon, a Bishop (dec'd) maintained that the literal translation was "defender of the fort". His story, & he had kissed "the stone" was that our ancestors boat was swamped during a contest to prove who was the most loyal to the King of Ireland. The first to put his hand on the King's shoulder as a gesture of loyalty was to be chosen as the "top dog" in his army. Our ancestor apparently cut off his hand and threw it. It hit the King on the shoulder & he was named the "Maolduin" or defender of the fort. The coat of arms features a severed hand.
http://genforum.genealogy.com/muldoon/messages/260.html
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