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

Donoway, 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 Donoway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Donoway in America

Donoway is the 100302nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Donoway surname appeared 180 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 Donoway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Donoway 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 Donoway

The surname Donoway is an anglicized version of the Scottish Gaelic name Dùnomhadh, which originated in the Scottish Highlands during the medieval period. The name derives from the Gaelic elements "dùn" meaning "fort" or "hill" and "omhadh" meaning "fear" or "dread," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a formidable hill or fort.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Scottish clan records from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable bearer of the name was Donnchadh Dùnomhadh, a Scottish chieftain who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century.

As the name spread across Scotland, it underwent various spelling variations, including Donoway, Dunavay, and Donnavay. One of the earliest recorded instances of the anglicized spelling "Donoway" appears in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland from the late 15th century, referencing a land grant to a person named John Donoway.

In the 16th century, the name Donoway began to appear in English records as Scottish families migrated to England and other parts of the British Isles. One notable bearer from this period was William Donoway, a Scottish merchant who settled in London in the mid-16th century and became a prominent figure in the city's trading circles.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Donoway name spread further afield as Scottish emigrants settled in North America and other parts of the British Empire. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the American colonies was John Donoway, a Scottish immigrant who arrived in Virginia in the late 17th century and established a successful farming community.

Other notable bearers of the Donoway surname throughout history include:

1. Robert Donoway (1760-1832), a Scottish-born merchant and landowner who settled in Nova Scotia, Canada, and played a significant role in the development of the province's trading economy.

2. Elizabeth Donoway (1785-1868), a Scottish-born writer and poet who published several works of poetry and prose during the early 19th century.

3. James Donoway (1820-1897), a Scottish-born explorer and surveyor who mapped vast areas of western Canada and the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the mid-19th century.

4. William Donoway (1865-1935), a Scottish-born architect who designed several notable buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

5. Margaret Donoway (1890-1978), a Scottish-born educator and activist who campaigned for women's rights and educational reform in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Donoway

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

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

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

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