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

O'Donnel, 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 O'Donnel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of O'Donnel in America

O'Donnel is the 41100th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Donnel surname appeared 530 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 O'Donnel.

We can also compare 2010 data for O'Donnel 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 O'Donnel

The surname ODONNEL is of Irish origin, and it can be traced back to the 12th century. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Dónaill, which means "descendant of Dónall." Dónall was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "domhnall," meaning "world mighty" or "world ruler."

The ODONNEL surname was first found in County Donegal, Ireland, where the Ó Dónaill family held a prominent position as the ruling dynasty of Tír Chonaill, the ancient territory of Donegal. The family was one of the most powerful and influential Irish clans in the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions Domhnall Ó Dónaill in the year 1241. Another notable reference is the Book of Fenagh, a 14th-century manuscript, which includes the name Ó Dónaill among the families of Tír Chonaill.

The ODONNEL surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, including O'Donnell, O'Donell, O'Donill, and O'Donniel. The name is also associated with several place names in County Donegal, such as Ballyshannon, which was derived from the Irish "Béal Átha Seanaidh," meaning "the mouth of Seannach's ford."

Several notable individuals with the ODONNEL surname have left their mark on history. These include:

1. Niall Garbh Ó Dónaill (c. 1569-1626), the last inaugurated Chief of the Name and a prominent figure in the Nine Years' War against English rule in Ireland.
2. Rory O'Donnell (1575-1608), an Irish nobleman and the last Earl of Tyrconnell.
3. Hugh Roe O'Donnell (1572-1602), an Irish chieftain and one of the most successful Irish military leaders against the English forces in the Nine Years' War.
4. Sir Neal O'Donnell (1605-1680), an Irish soldier who served in the Spanish Army of Flanders and later joined the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.
5. John O'Donnell (1837-1904), an Irish-American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Michigan.

While the ODONNEL surname has strong historical roots in Ireland, it has since spread to other parts of the world due to Irish emigration and diaspora.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name O'Donnel

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname O'Donnel.

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 O'Donnel 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 O'Donnel 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 O'Donnel was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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