The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #15514   Message #2729788
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
23-Sep-09 - 02:10 PM
Thread Name: Old Paint: What's a hoolian?
Subject: RE: Old Paint: What's a hoolian?
McGrath is correct; the paper is believed to have used a popular corruption of the name of the gang's leader, Hooley. The OED says this is generally believed, but also in the 1890s, the word hooligan appeared as the name of a rowdy Irish family in a music hall song.

There is no Russian connection.