Find out how popular the last name Donalson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Donalson.

Donalson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Donalson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donalson in America

Donalson is the 24124th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donalson surname appeared 1,043 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Donalson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Donalson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Donalson

The surname Donalson originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name Domhnall, meaning "world ruler" or "world mighty." This name was often Anglicized as Donald. The addition of the suffix "-son" denotes "son of."

The earliest recorded example of the Donalson surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish nobles who swore allegiance to Edward I of England. One entry lists a "Duncan Donaldson" from Aberdeenshire.

In the 14th century, the Donaldsons were a prominent clan in the Scottish Highlands, particularly in the regions of Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire. They were often at odds with neighboring clans over land and resources.

The Donalson name appears in various historical records throughout the centuries. In 1512, a William Donaldson was listed as a burgess of Dundee. In 1642, a James Donalson was recorded as a merchant in Glasgow.

One notable Donalson was Sir James Donaldson (1751-1830), a Scottish merchant and philanthropist. He founded the Donaldson's Hospital in Edinburgh, a charitable institution for the education and care of children.

Another prominent figure was Sir Stuart Donaldson (1812-1867), a Scottish businessman and politician. He served as the Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1857 to 1859.

In the literary world, John Donaldson (1769-1862) was a Scottish philologist and grammarian who published works on the Greek language and literature.

The Donalson surname also has a connection to place names. In Aberdeenshire, there is a village called Donaldson's Lodge, which likely derived its name from a local Donalson family.

While the spelling "Donalson" is less common today, variations such as Donaldson and Donaldsone were more widely used in historical records.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donalson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Donalson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Donalson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Donalson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Donalson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Donalson, please contact us.

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