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

McDonnell, 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 McDonnell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of McDonnell in America

McDonnell is the 2532nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The McDonnell surname appeared 14,309 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname McDonnell.

We can also compare 2010 data for McDonnell 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 McDonnell

The surname McDonnell is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name "Domhnall," which means "ruler of the world." This name was Anglicized as Donald, and the prefix "Mc" or "Mac" means "son of."

The McDonnell clan was centered in the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles, particularly on the islands of Islay and Kintyre. The name first appeared in written records in the 12th century, with some early spellings including MacDomhnaill, MacConnell, and McDonill.

In the 14th century, the MacDonnells of Islay became a powerful branch of the clan, with John Mor McDonnell (1337-1395) serving as Lord of the Isles. His descendants played a significant role in Scottish history, including Angus Og McDonnell (1454-1490), who led a rebellion against King James IV in 1489.

The Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, mentions several notable McDonnells, such as Turlough Luineach McDonnell (1567-1593), a chieftain in Ulster, and Rory Og McDonnell (1560-1610), who fought against English forces in Ireland.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, many McDonnells migrated from Scotland to Ireland, particularly to counties Antrim and Down. One prominent figure was Randal McDonnell (1609-1683), the 1st Earl of Antrim, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.

In the United States, the McDonnell name has been associated with several notable individuals, including John McDonnell (1854-1923), a Irish-American labor leader and politician, and James McDonnell (1899-1967), the founder of the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, a major aerospace company.

Other famous McDonnells include:

• Alasdair McDonnell (born 1944), an Irish politician and leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.
• John Francis McDonnell (1837-1892), an Irish-American Roman Catholic bishop.
• John McDonnell (born 1951), a British politician and former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• Myles McDonnell (1950-2020), an Irish singer-songwriter and musician.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name McDonnell

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

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

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

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