O'Donaghue History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of O'Donaghue

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

Early Origins of the O'Donaghue family

Early History of the O'Donaghue family

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

O'Donaghue Spelling Variations

The scribes who created documents long before either the Gaelic or English language resembled their standardized versions of today recorded words as they sounded. Consequently, in the Middle Ages the names of many people were recorded under different spellings each time they were written down. Research on the O'Donaghue family name revealed numerous 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.

Early Notables of the O'Donaghue family

Another 28 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early O'Donaghue Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the O'Donaghue family

Suffering from poverty and racial discrimination, thousands of Irish families left the island in the 19th century for North America aboard cramped passenger ships. The early migrants became settlers of small tracts of land, and those that came later were often employed in the new cities or transitional work camps. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Although the immigrants from this period were often maligned when they arrived in the United States, they provided the cheap labor that was necessary for the development of that country as an industrial power. Early immigration and passenger lists have revealed many immigrants bearing the name O'Donaghue: Bridget Donaghue who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1850; along with Catherine, Charles, Dennis, Ellen, John, Mary, Michael, Patrick, Thomas, and many many more who settled in Philadelphia, and New York State..