Donehue History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name Donehue originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Donnchadha, which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donagh. 1

Early Origins of the Donehue family

The surname Donehue was first found in County Kerry (Irish:Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Donehue family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donehue research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1640, 1811, 1812 and 1893 are included under the topic Early Donehue History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donehue Spelling Variations

The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the Donehue family name revealed numerous spelling variations, including Donoghue, Donaghoe, Donaho, Donahoe, Donough, Donahue, Donahow, Doneghoe, Donehue, Donighue, Donohoe,Donahugh, Donohough, Donohow, Donohue, Donaughue, O'Donoghue, Dunphy, Donaghie, Donaghy and many more.

Early Notables of the Donehue family

Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Donehue Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donehue migration to the United States +

Many Irish families boarded ships bound for North America in the middle of 19th century to escape the conditions of poverty and racial discrimination . Although these immigrants often arrived in a destitute state, they went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of the United States and Canada. An inquiry into many immigration and passenger lists has revealed many early immigrants to North America bearing the Donehue family name:

Donehue Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Michel Donehue, aged 21, who arrived in New York in 1854 2
Mortimer Donehue, aged 26, who landed in New York, NY in 1856 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Donehue (post 1700) +

Wesley Donehue, American political strategist and Internet consultant
Vincent Julian Donehue (1915-1966), American Tony award winning director

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)