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| Origins Available: |
| | Ireland |
The original Gaelic form of the Irish name Dornan was Ó Duirnin or Ó Dornian, possibly derived from the word "dorn," which means "fist." 1
The surname Dornan was first found in County Antrim (Irish: Aontroim) located in the province of Ulster in present day Northern Ireland. The name is also specific to "Ballydurnian in County Antrim, but Durnian is the more usual form in west Ulster." 2
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dornan research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1596 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Dornan History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
The search for the origins of the name Dornan family name revealed numerous spelling variations. These variants can be somewhat accounted for when it is realized that before widespread literacy people only recognized their name by pronunciation; it was up to scribes to decide how it was to be formally recorded. Variations found include Durnan, Durnane, Durneen, Durnin, Durnain, Dornan, Dornain and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Dornan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Thousands of Irish left in their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, and in the search of a plot of land to call their own. These immigrants arrived at the eastern shores of North America, early on settling and breaking the land, and, later, building the bridges, canals, and railroads essential to the emerging nations of United States and Canada. Many others would toil for low wages in the dangerous factories of the day. Although there had been a steady migration of Irish to North America over these years, the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name Dornan or a variant listed above: