O Daniel History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The original Gaelic form of O Daniel was Ó Domhnaill, which means descendant of Domhnall or descendant of Donal(l.) The name is derived from the Irish words "domhan" (the world) and "all" (mighty): son of Colga, a quo O'Domhnaill. 1 The surname claims descendancy from the Heremon Kings of Ireland. 1

Early Origins of the O Daniel family

The surname O Daniel was first found in County Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where records show this distinguished Irish Clann were directly descended from Connell, son of King Niall of the Nine Hostages who died in 371. Today the most numerous listing of the name can be found in Tirconaill (Donegal), but there are two other branches that are significant, those in Corcabaskin in West Clare, and those of the Ui Maine (Hy Many) in County Galway. 2

All descend from the same ancestor name Domhnall (English: Donal) and are O Domhnaill (Irish Gaelic.) The Donegal "promedominance only dates from the thirteenth century; prior to that they were located in the comparatively restricted area around Kilmacrenan, County Donegal." 2

Early History of the O Daniel family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O Daniel research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1571, 1575, 1601, 1602 and 1608 are included under the topic Early O Daniel History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O Daniel Spelling Variations

The Middle Ages saw a great number of spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period. The following variations for the name O Daniel were encountered in the archives: O Donnell, O'Donald, O'Donle, O'Donall, O'Donnell and others.

Early Notables of the O Daniel family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Red Hugh O'Donnell (1571-1602), Irish chieftain and Earl of Tyrconnel, who fought against the English, but was defeated, with Hugh O'Neill, 2d Earl of Tyrone, at Kinsale in 1601. He was succeeded in...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O Daniel Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O Daniel Ranking

In the United States, the name O Daniel is the 8,113^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 3

Migration of the O Daniel family

Death and immigration greatly reduced Ireland's population in the 19th century. For the native Irish people poverty, hunger, and racial prejudice was common. Therefore, thousands left their homeland to seek opportunity in North America. Those who survived the journey and the quarantine camps to which they arrived, were instrumental towards building the strong developing nations of the United States and the future Canada. By far, the largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. These were employed as construction or factory workers. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has shown early immigrants bearing the name O Daniel: Charles, Roger, Thomas, William O'Donald who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1840 and 1860; Phillip O'Donel arrived in Boston Massachusetts in 1767.

Contemporary Notables of the name O Daniel (post 1700) +

Pat O'Daniel, American musician, son of "Pappy" O'Daniel, founder of Pat O'Daniel and his Hillbilly Boys, a Texan Western swing band who had a 15 minute radio show in the 1930s
John W. "Iron Mike" O'Daniel (1894-1975), United States Army general, Commander of the Third Infantry Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Southern France during World War II, his motto was “sharpen your bayonet”
Wilbert Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel (1890-1969), American politician, United States Senator from Texas (1941-1949), 34th Governor of Texas (1939-1941)

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families Their Names, Arms and Origins 4th Edition. Dublin: Irish Academic, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2364-7)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/