2010
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Donoher
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Dónachaidh meaning descendant of Dónachaidh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Donoher. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Donoher surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Donoher in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Donoher, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Donoher
The surname DONOHER is of Irish origin and is believed to have originated in County Clare, Ireland in the 16th century. The name is derived from the Gaelic words "O'Donnchadha", meaning "descendant of Donnchadh". Donnchadh was a personal name that translates to "brown warrior" or "brown battler".
The earliest recorded instances of the surname DONOHER can be found in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns during the plantation of Munster in the late 16th century. Some variations of the spelling included O'Donoghue, O'Donohoe, and Donohoe. The name was also closely associated with the baronies of Inchiquin and Bunratty in County Clare.
In the 17th century, the name DONOHER appeared in the Petty Census of Ireland, which was a survey conducted by Sir William Petty in 1659. This census recorded several individuals with the surname DONOHER residing in County Clare and neighboring counties.
One notable historical figure with the surname DONOHER was Patrick Donoher (1762-1838), a Irish politician and Member of Parliament for County Clare in the early 19th century. Another was John Donoher (1784-1862), an Irish Catholic priest and author who wrote extensively on religious topics.
In the 19th century, the name DONOHER was found in various records and documents, including the Griffith's Valuation, which was a survey of land and property in Ireland conducted between 1848 and 1864. This valuation recorded several families with the surname DONOHER residing in County Clare and other parts of Munster.
Other notable individuals with the surname DONOHER include:
1. Michael Donoher (1789-1864), an Irish writer and poet from County Clare.
2. James Donoher (1821-1895), an Irish-American Civil War veteran and politician from New York.
3. Mary Donoher (1832-1910), an Irish author and educator who founded several schools in County Clare.
4. William Donoher (1857-1932), an Irish-American businessman and philanthropist from Boston, Massachusetts.
5. Patrick Donoher (1879-1951), an Irish-American Catholic priest and educator from Chicago, Illinois.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donoher
Among Census respondents with the surname Donoher, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Donoher bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Donoher surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.0% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino18.2% · 20
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Donoher
Donoher appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-3 bearers (-2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 3,245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.7%) | Down 3,245 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Donoher surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #146,201 | #149,446 | -2.2% |
| Count | 113 | 110 | -2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Donoher bearers went from 113 to 110 (-2.7% change). The surname moved down 3,245 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #149,446.
FAQ
Donoher surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Donoher?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Donoher. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Donoher?
Donoher ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Donoher. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Donoher.
Has Donoher become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Donoher went from 113 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 3 (-2.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Donoher?
Among Census respondents with the surname Donoher, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.2%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Donoher in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.0% (88 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Donoher appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.0%), Hispanic (18.2%), Two or More Races (1.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Donoher (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Donoher mean?
An Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Dónachaidh meaning descendant of Dónachaidh. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Donoher (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Donoher?
Want to know how many people are called Donoher? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.