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

Donley, 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 Donley surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donley in America

Donley is the 4675th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donley surname appeared 7,589 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Donley.

We can also compare 2010 data for Donley 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 Donley

The surname Donley originated in Ireland, specifically in the northern counties of Ulster. It first appeared in written records during the 17th century. The name is derived from the Gaelic words "donn" meaning brown or dark, and "leath" meaning a portion or side. Together, the words form the meaning "brown side" or "dark slope."

This surname is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to a person who lived near a brown or dark-colored hillside or slope. It may have also been used as a descriptive name for someone with a dark complexion or hair color.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665, which listed a John Donley residing in County Antrim, Ireland. The name also appeared in the Registry of Deeds for County Donegal, where a William Donley was recorded as a landowner in 1672.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, many Irish families with the surname Donley immigrated to the American colonies, particularly to Pennsylvania and the Appalachian region. Notable individuals with the Donley surname include:

1. James Donley (1737-1806), an Irish-born American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later settled in Virginia.
2. John Donley (1771-1856), an American farmer and landowner in Ohio, known for his contribution to the early settlement of the state.
3. Sarah Donley (1822-1905), a pioneer and one of the first female settlers in California during the Gold Rush era.
4. William Donley (1848-1924), an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia, from 1893 to 1895.
5. Margaret Donley Noonan (1867-1945), an American educator and women's rights activist who worked to establish educational opportunities for girls in rural Pennsylvania.

Throughout its history, the Donley surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Donleys Brae in County Antrim and Donleys Hill in County Tyrone. These place names likely originated from the presence of Donley families in those areas and reflect the topographic nature of the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donley

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!