Show ContentsDanovent History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Many of the Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name Danovent originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Donnabhain, derived from the words "donn," which means "brown," and "dubhan," a derivative of "dubh," which means "black." 1

Early Origins of the Danovent family

The surname Danovent was first found in County Limerick (Irish: Luimneach) located in Southwestern Ireland, in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times at Bruree. Their hereditary territory were the lands along the banks of the river Maigues in that county. They were descended from Crom, the Chief of the Donovans, who built Crom Castle, and he in turn was descended anciently from Eoghan Mor (Eugene the Great), King of Munster. Amhailgadh II's son, Crom's great, great grandfather, was a commander with King Brian Boru in the Battle of Clontarf against the Danes, and it was at this time through marriage that they lost the throne of Munster.

Early History of the Danovent family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Danovent research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1584, 1639, 1641, 1684, 1689 and 1705 are included under the topic Early Danovent History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Danovent Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, attempting to record a Gaelic name in English was a daunting task. Most names were spelt by scribes solely based on how it sounded, one's name could have been recorded many different ways during the life of its bearer. Numerous spelling variations were revealed in the search for the origin of the name Danovent family name.Variations found include Donovan, Donavon, Donavan, Donevan, Donnovan, Donnavon, Donnavan, Donnovin and many more.

Early Notables of the Danovent family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Donal II O'Donovan (Irish: Domhnall Ó Donnabháin), The O'Donovan of Clann Cathail, Lord of Clancahill (died 1639); Donal III O'Donovan (Irish: Domhnall Ó Donnabháin), The O'Donovan of Clancahill, (born before 1584), he joined the so-called Irish Rebellion of 1641 under Donagh MacCarthy and was accordingly stripped of his estates by...
Another 58 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Danovent Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Danovent family

Irish immigrants began to leave the English-controlled Ireland in sizable numbers during the late 18th century. Many of these Irish immigrated to British North America or the United States in the hopes of gaining their own tract of farmland. This pattern of migration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine caused a great exodus of immigrants to North America. These immigrants differed from their predecessors in that they were desperately fleeing the disease and starvation that plagued their homeland, and many were entirely destitute when they arrived in North America. Although these penniless immigrants were not warmly welcomed when they arrived, they were critical to the rapid development of the United States and what would become known as Canada. Many went to populate the western frontiers and others provided the cheap labor the new manufacturing sector and the building of bridges, roads, railways, and canals required. A thorough examination of immigration and passenger lists has revealed some of the earliest people to arrive in North America with name Danovent or one of its variants: Daniell Donavan who settled in Barbados in 1680; Ann, Bat, Bridget, and Catharine Donavan all settled in Boston Massachusetts between 1847 and 1850; they also settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Maryland, and New York.



  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook