Find out how popular the last name O'Donovan 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'Donovan.

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

Popularity of O'Donovan in America

O'Donovan is the 19945th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Donovan surname appeared 1,345 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'Donovan.

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

The surname O'Donovan is of Irish origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó Donnabháin, which means "descendant of Donndubhán." Donndubhán was a personal name derived from the words "donn" meaning brown or dark, and "dubhán" meaning a diminutive form of "dubh" meaning black or dark.

The O'Donovans were a prominent clan in County Cork, Ireland, and ruled over the territory of Cairbré in West Munster. They were one of the most powerful families in Munster and held considerable influence in the region during the Middle Ages. The name is first recorded in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, in the 13th century.

One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name was Diarmaid Ó Donnabháin, who was the Lord of Cairbré in the late 12th century. Another notable figure was Domhnall Ó Donnabháin, who was the Bishop of Ross in the early 14th century.

In the 16th century, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the O'Donovans were involved in several conflicts with the English forces. One of the most prominent figures from this period was Donal Cam O'Donovan, who led the clan's resistance against the English in the 1580s.

Other notable individuals with the surname include Jeremiah O'Donovan (1831-1915), an Irish-American prelate who served as the fourth Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky, and William Rudolph O'Donovan (1844-1920), an Irish-American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain.

The O'Donovans were also known for their involvement in the Irish literary tradition. One of the most celebrated figures was Morgan O'Donovan (1585-1644), who was a renowned Irish scribe and chronicler. He is best known for his work, the Annals of the Four Masters, which is a comprehensive chronicle of Irish history from the earliest times to the 17th century.

Throughout history, variations of the name have included O'Donavan, O'Donovan, Donovan, and Donavon, among others. The name has also been associated with various place names in County Cork, such as Donovan's Road and Donovan's Grove.

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

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

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'Donovan 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'Donovan 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'Donovan 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'Donovan, please contact us.

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