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Donohue History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Donohue History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

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

Early Origins of the Donohue family

The surname Donohue 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 Donohue family

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

Donohue Spelling Variations

Lacking standardized spellings, scribes and church officials recorded people's name according to how they sounded. This practice often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Donohue are preserved in the archival documents of the period. The various spellings of the name that were found include 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 Donohue family

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

Donohue Ranking

In the United States, the name Donohue is the 3,024^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 2

Donohue 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 at that time. 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 Donohue family name:

Donohue Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J Donohue, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
James Donohue, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 3
Mary Donohue, aged 18, who landed in New York in 1854 3
Bernard Donohue, aged 22, who landed in New York in 1854 3
Catherine Donohue, aged 25, who arrived in New York in 1854 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Donohue migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Donohue Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patrick Donohue, aged 30, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Hibernia" from Kinsale, Ireland
Ellen Donohue, aged 26, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Hibernia" from Kinsale, Ireland
Mary Donohue, aged 16, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Hibernia" from Kinsale, Ireland
John Donohue, aged 25, a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1834 aboard the brig "Charity" from Kinsale, Ireland
Florence Donohue, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Donohue migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Donohue Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Donohue, (Donahue), (b. 1812), aged 24, Irish labourer who was convicted in Cork, Ireland for life for theft, transported aboard the "Captain Cook" on 5th July 1836, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Thomas Donohue, English convict who was convicted in Bristol, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Duncan" on 10th December 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Mr. Michael Donohue, Irish convict who was convicted in Ireland, transported aboard the "Cadet" on 9th April 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Margaret Donohue, aged 17, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Elgin" in 1849 7
Mary Donohue, aged 16, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Elgin" in 1849 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Donohue migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Donohue Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Martin Donohue, aged 25, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Accrington" in 1863 8
Mr. Peter Donohue, (b. 1847), aged 20, British ploughman travelling from London aboard the ship "Glenmark" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 14th November 1867 8
William Donohue, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Blairgowrie" in 1875
Daniel Donohue, aged 29, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Dallam Tower" in 1875
Michael Donohue, aged 21, a farm labourer, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Gainsborough" in 1878 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Donohue (post 1700) +

Zachary Tyler "Zach" Donohue (b. 1991), American silver medalist ice dancer at the 2022 Winter Olympics, three-time World medalist, the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2014 Four Continents champion, and a three-time U.S. national champion (2018–2019, 2021)
James Thomas "Jim" Donohue (1937-2017), American Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played from 1961 to 1962
Leon Donohue (1939-2016), American NFL football offensive guard
Thomas James "Tom" Donohue (b. 1952), American retired Major League Baseball player
Mary Donohue, American judge of the New York Court of Claims, 73rd Lieutenant Governor of New York (1999-2006)
Mark Donohue (1937-1975), American racecar driver, nicknamed "Captain Nice" and "Dark Monohue"
Harold Donohue (1901-1984), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 4th district (1947-1973)
Pat Donohue (b. 1953), American finger style guitarist
Lee Donohue (b. 1942), American police chief
Keith Donohue (b. 1960), American novelist
... (Another 61 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Donohue family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Ned Burton Donohue, American Fireman First Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 10

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/captain-cook
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duncan
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cadet/
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ELGIN 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Elgin.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 3rd November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html