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

Doneghy, 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 Doneghy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Doneghy in America

Doneghy is the 133048th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Doneghy surname appeared 127 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 Doneghy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Doneghy 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 Doneghy

The surname Doneghy originated in Ireland and is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Donnchadha, meaning "descendant of Donnchadh". Donnchadh is derived from the words "donn" meaning brown or dark, and "cath" meaning battle or warrior. Thus, the name suggests the bearer's ancestor was a dark-haired or swarthy warrior.

The name is believed to have first appeared in County Limerick during the 11th or 12th century. Early records show variations in spelling such as O'Donoghue, O'Donochue, and O'Donohoe. It's likely the Doneghy spelling emerged as an anglicized form in the 17th or 18th century when official record-keeping became more standardized.

One of the earliest known references to the name comes from the Annals of Inisfallen, which mentions a chieftain named Donnchadh Ó Donnchadha who lived in the late 11th century. The name also appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle compiled in the early 17th century by Franciscan monks.

Notable individuals with the Doneghy surname include:

1. Terence Doneghy (1767-1844), an Irish politician and landowner who served as High Sheriff of County Limerick.
2. James Doneghy (1825-1899), an Irish-American businessman and politician who served as Mayor of Brooklyn, New York in the late 19th century.
3. John Doneghy (1890-1962), an Irish-American labor union leader and politician who served as a member of the New York State Assembly.
4. Michael Doneghy (1934-2017), an Irish-born British poet and academic who taught at the University of Reading.
5. Patrick Doneghy (born 1958), an Irish former professional soccer player who played for clubs like Nottingham Forest and Coventry City in the 1970s and 1980s.

While the Doneghy surname is primarily associated with Ireland, it has spread to other parts of the world due to Irish emigration. The name can also be found in places like the United States, Canada, and Australia, where descendants of Irish emigrants settled.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Doneghy

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

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

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

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