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The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name Donahow originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Donnchadha, which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donagh. 1
The surname Donahow 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donahow research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1640, 1811, 1812 and 1893 are included under the topic Early Donahow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The recording of names in Ireland in the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. The standardized literary languages of today were not yet reached. Research into the name Donahow revealed 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.
Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Donahow Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Irish families began leaving their homeland for North America in the late 18th century. These families were usually modestly well off, but they were looking forward to owning and working on a sizable tract of land of their own. This pattern of emigration continued until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine sparked a major exodus of destitute and desperate Irish people. These people were not leaving for a grant of land in North America because by this time the East Coast had reached its saturation point and free land was scarce. They were merely looking to escape the disease, starvation, and hopelessness that Ireland had fallen into. Although these unfortunate immigrants did not receive a warm welcome by the established populations in the United States and what would become Canada, they were absolutely critical to the rapid development that these two nations enjoyed. They would help populate the western lands and provide the cheap labor required for a rapid industrialization. An examination of passenger and immigration lists has revealed many early bearers of the name Donahow or one of its variants: