Dornan History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

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

Early Origins of the Dornan family

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

Early History of the Dornan family

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.

Dornan Spelling Variations

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.

Early Notables of the Dornan family

More information is included under the topic Early Dornan Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dornan migration to the United States +

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:

Dornan Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John and Mary Dornan who settled in New York State with their three children in 1803
Mary Dornan, aged 40, who arrived in New York, NY in 1803 3
Edward Dornan, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1828 3
Alexander, Jacob, and Robert Dornan, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania between 1835 and 1852
John Dornan, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1856 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dornan (post 1700) +

John Pickens Dornan (1880-1959), American cricketer
Robert Kenneth "Bob" Dornan (b. 1933), American Republican and former member of the United States House of Representatives
James Connor "Jim" Dornan (1948-2021), Northern Irish obstetrician and gynecologist, Chair in Fetal Medicine at Queens University Belfast
Alan Dornan (b. 1962), retired Northern Irish footballer and manager
Jamie Dornan (b. 1982), Northern Irish fashion model turned musician and occasional actor
Andy Dornan (b. 1961), Scottish former football player

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, More Irish Families. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 1982. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-0126-0)
MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
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)