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

Donegan, 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 Donegan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donegan in America

Donegan is the 7601st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donegan surname appeared 4,372 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Donegan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Donegan 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 Donegan

The surname Donegan has its origins in Ireland, dating back to the 16th century. It is an Anglicized version of the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Donnghaile," which means "descendant of Donnghal." Donnghal is a personal name that combines the Gaelic words "donn," meaning brown or dark, and "ghal," meaning valor or valiance.

The Donegan name is closely associated with County Sligo in the northwestern part of Ireland. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor sovereign, Queen Elizabeth I, from the late 16th century. These official records document land grants and other legal matters pertaining to the Donegan family in County Sligo during that period.

In the 17th century, the Donegan name appeared in the Annals of the Four Masters, a renowned chronicle of medieval Irish history. The annals mention several members of the Donegan clan, including Brian Oge Donegan, who was involved in a conflict with the O'Conors of Sligo in 1603.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Donegan surname was Teige Donegan, a member of the Irish Parliament who represented County Sligo in the 1630s. Another notable figure was Dermot Donegan, a Catholic priest who lived in the late 17th century and played a role in preserving Irish language manuscripts and historical records.

In the 18th century, the Donegan name gained prominence through the military exploits of Brigadier General John Donegan (1690-1757). Born in County Sligo, he served in the British Army and fought in various campaigns during the War of the Austrian Succession.

The 19th century saw the emergence of Jeremiah Donegan (1810-1890), a prominent Irish-American politician and lawyer who served as the Mayor of Albany, New York, in the 1860s. Another notable individual from this period was Michael Donegan (1836-1914), an Irish-born prelate who served as the Bishop of Trenton, New Jersey, from 1881 until his death.

In the literary realm, the Donegan name is associated with William Donegan (1832-1908), an Irish-American writer and journalist who contributed to various publications in the United States and Ireland. He is particularly known for his novel, Elmwood Folks, which depicted life in rural Ireland.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donegan

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

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 Donegan 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 Donegan 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 Donegan was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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