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

Donnell, 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 Donnell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donnell in America

Donnell is the 5361st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donnell surname appeared 6,494 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Donnell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Donnell 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 Donnell

The surname DONNELL originated in Ireland and is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name O'Domhnaill, which means "descendant of Domhnall." Domhnall is derived from the Gaelic words "domhan," meaning "world," and "all," meaning "mighty" or "powerful." The name can be traced back to the 10th century and the influential O'Donnell dynasty of Donegal in Ulster, Ireland.

The O'Donnell clan was one of the most powerful families in medieval Ulster and played a significant role in Irish history. The name appears in numerous historical records, including the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of the Four Masters, which document the clan's activities from the 12th to the 17th century.

One notable figure was Niall Garve O'Donnell (c. 1516-1626), a renowned warrior and leader of the O'Donnell clan who fought against English colonization of Ireland. Another prominent individual was Red Hugh O'Donnell (c. 1572-1602), an Irish chieftain and military commander who led a successful rebellion against English rule in Ulster.

The DONNELL surname can be found in various spellings throughout history, including O'Donnell, O'Donell, and Donell. Place names associated with the name include Donegal, which was the traditional territory of the O'Donnell clan, and Bundoran, a town in County Donegal.

Other notable individuals with the surname include Peader O'Donnell (1899-1970), an Irish republican and socialist activist, and Edna Ferber (1885-1968), an American novelist and playwright whose birth name was Edna O'Donnell. Another famous DONNELL was James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916), an American poet known as the "Hoosier Poet" whose mother's maiden name was Donnell.

While the DONNELL surname has its roots in Ireland, it has since spread to various parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to immigration patterns over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donnell

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

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

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

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