Show ContentsDonohoe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Early Origins of the Donohoe family

The surname Donohoe 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 Donohoe family

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

Donohoe Spelling Variations

Within archives, many different spelling variations exist for the surname Donohoe. Ancient scribes and church officials recorded names as they were pronounced, often resulting in the name of the single person being recorded under several different spellings. Different spellings 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 Donohoe family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Patrick Donohoe (1811- Daniel O'Donoghue the Mannikin traitor

Donohoe Ranking

In the United States, the name Donohoe is the 8,946th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2


Donohoe migration to the United States +

North America accepted thousands of Irish immigrants during the 19th century as their homeland suffered under foreign imperialistic rule. Although settlers from the early portion of the century came to North America by choice in search of land, by far the largest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Many of these Irish families left the country destitute and in some cases suffering from disease. However, those who survived the long ocean voyage were especially vital to the development of industry in the United States and what would become known as Canada. Research of immigration and passenger lists has shown many early immigrants bearing the name Donohoe:

Donohoe Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Francis Donohoe, aged 27, who landed in Missouri in 1840 3
  • Mr. Thomas Donohoe, aged 21, Irish labourer who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
  • John Donohoe, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1849 3
  • Hugh R Donohoe, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1872 3

Donohoe migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Donohoe Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • James Donohoe, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1822
  • John Donohoe, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1823
  • Catherine Donohoe, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1836
  • Mary Donohoe, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1841
  • Patrick Donohoe, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1843
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Donohoe migration to Australia +

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

Donohoe Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Donohoe, (b. 1806), aged 21, Irish clerk who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for life for robbery, transported aboard the “Countess of Harcourt“ on 14th February 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1839 4
  • John Donohoe, a baker, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Richard Donohoe, a bricklayer, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
  • Miss Anne Donohoe, (Donohue), (b. 1810), aged 16, Irish house servant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 3rd October 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • Mrs. Mary Donohoe, (Donohue), (b. 1798), aged 28, Irish nursery maid who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Brothers" on 3rd October 1826, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 5
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Donohoe (post 1700) +

  • Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (1905-1987), American Roman Catholic clergyman, Bishop of Stockton (1962–1969)
  • Michael Pierce "Mike" Donohoe (b. 1945), American former NFL tight end for the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers, inducted into the University of San Francisco Hall of Fame in 1988
  • L. J. Donohoe, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Democratic National Committee from Alaska Territory, 1920-21 6
  • John P. Donohoe, American Republican politician, Justice of New York Supreme Court 9th District; Elected 1960 6
  • John P. Donohoe, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Putnam County, 1917-20 ; Candidate in primary for New York State Treasurer, 1920 6
  • James A. Donohoe, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Nebraska State Constitutional Convention, 1919-20; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Nebraska, 1932 6
  • J. M. Donohoe, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Cabell County Democratic Party, 1946 6
  • Hugh Aloysius Donohoe (1905-1987), American Republican politician, Speaker, Republican National Convention, 1956 6
  • Eugene G. Donohoe, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Circuit Judge in Michigan 3rd Circuit, 1935; Democratic Candidate for U.S. Representative from Michigan 17th District, 1950, 1952 (primary) 6
  • Charles L. Donohoe, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1932 6
  • ... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

RMS Titanic
  • Miss Bridget Donohoe (d. 1912), aged 21, Irish Third Class passenger from Cum, Mayo who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking 7


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 19th April 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/countess-of-harcourt
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 3rd November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/brothers
  6. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  7. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html


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