Donneys History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland
• Ireland

Etymology of Donneys

On the Scottish west coast, the Donneys family was born among the ancient Dalriadan clans. Their name comes from the Anglicized version of the Gaelic personal name Mac Dhomhnuill. Donneys is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. The surname Donneys arose from the vernacular naming tradition, whereby surnames were formed by adopting the given name of one's father, or another ancestor. This name was first found in Kintyre, where members of this family had resided for many years.

Most historians note the name claims descent through the High Kings of Ireland, namely Colla Uais and Conn of the Hundred Battles. Movement between Scotland and Ireland was very frequent over the centuries. (O'Hart)

Donneys Coat of Arms Creation

The story of the cross is that an ancestor of the MacDonalds helped St Patrick to establish Christianity in Ireland, and in this way had the cross associated with his name.

The MacDonald motto is in Gaelic " Air muir 's air tir " ; in Latin, " Per mare per terras."

Sir Walter Scott in The Lord of the Isles writes :-

" Lord of the Isles, my trust's in thee

As firm as Ailsa rock ;

Rush on with Highland sword and targe,

I with my Carrick spearmen charge,

Go forward to the shock." 1

Early Origins of the Donneys family

Early History of the Donneys family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Donneys research. Another 300 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1329, 1335, 1336, 1341, 1342, 1386, 1415, 1420, 1424, 1449, 1456, 1498, 1603, 1692 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Donneys History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Donneys Spelling Variations

In various documents Donneys has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. MacDonald, Macdonald, McDonald, Donaldson, MacDonny and many more.

Early Notables of the Donneys family

John of Islay, or John MacDonald, (d. 1386), the first Lord of the Isles (1336-1386) and chief of Clan Donald. He was he was the son of Angus Og Macdonald, who died at Isla about 1329, and was buried at Icolmkill. The Macdonalds trace their descent from Donald, elder son of Refinald, second son of Sommerled of Argyll, king of the Isles. On account of a dispute with the regent regarding certain lands, John of Isla joined the party of Edward Baliol, to whom, in consideration of a grant of the lands of Mull, Skye, Isla, Gigha, Kintyre, Knapdale, &c., he...
Another 354 words (25 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Donneys Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Donneys family to Ireland

Some of the Donneys family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Donneys family

Significant portions of the populations of both the United States and Canada are still made up of the ancestors of Dalriadan families. Some of those in Canada originally settled the United States, but went north as United Empire Loyalists in the American War of Independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the ancestors of many Scots on both sides of the border begin to recover their collective national heritage through Clan societies and highland games. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Daniel Macdonald, who came to New Jersey sometime between 1730 and 1749; Angus McDonald who settled in Virginia in 1746; Norman and Elizabeth Macdonald, and their two children who settled in Georgia in 1741.