The Dolan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 27,329 people carried this name — #1,283 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 10,800 people counted. About the same as in 2000 (27,252).

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Dolan surname

A surname from Irish that originated in Ireland.

From Irish Ó Duibhlin.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Dolan» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 142 births for the Dolan name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 6,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 52
Ulster 50
Leinster 37
Munster 3

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 104 people named Dolan live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 58
City of Buenos Aires 23
Santa Fe 13
Río Negro 10

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Poland’s population register

26 people named Dolan have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 55 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 4 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Pomeranian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Pomeranian 13
Masovian 6
Lublin 5
Opole 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

25 people named Dolan is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 25

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland’s registers today

Dolan was recorded 45 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 579th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 59. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Dolan in American newspapers,
1880–1925.

Newspaper page from Casper Daily Tribune carrying the name Dolan
Casper Daily Tribune 1925-01-10
Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Dolan
The Salt Lake Herald 1901-10-13
Newspaper page from Mineral Point Tribune carrying the name Dolan
Mineral Point Tribune 1880-01-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 136,242 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Dolan in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

20,027 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dolan. The most, 3,843, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Northern Territory, at 3.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 5,624
Victoria 4,298
Queensland 3,819
South Australia 2,633
Western Australia 2,076
Tasmania 820
ACT (Canberra) 627
Northern Territory 91

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Dolan.

Who carried it

People named Dolan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Dolan
    Thomas Dolan 1834–1914 · businessperson
  • Bernard Dolan
    Bernard Dolan 1838– · politician
  • Daniel Francis Dolan
    Daniel Francis Dolan 1847– · politician
  • James Dolan
    James Dolan 1848–1898
  • John Gilbert Dolan
    John Gilbert Dolan 1853–1914 · cleric

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 239 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Dolan,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States10,240 records

10,240 records of the Dolan name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3,556
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 2,953
  • Other U.S. records 3,731
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Edwin Dolan

    Born 1947; from Scituate, Massachusetts. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1970 in Binh Dinh, South Vietnam. Buried at Fairview Cemetery, Scituate, Massachusetts.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record John L. Dolan

    Born 1918 in Iowa. Enlisted 1943 at Camp Dodge Herrold; office clerk from Black Hawk County. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1998, buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget Dolan

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Berlin from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 24; servant. From Sligo, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 10,240 records for Dolan in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Ramsey County, Minnesota (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,008 records

1,008 records of the Dolan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 363
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 281
  • Other Australian records 364
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Ann Dolan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Asia, sailing from London in 1847. Native of Manchester, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Fingal, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Bridget Dolan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Duchess of Northumberland, sailing from Woolwich in 1852. Native of Manchester, Lancashire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Ambrose Dolan

    Died 1929 in Tunnack, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1929.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,008 records for Dolan in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Ireland98 records

98 records of the Dolan name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Vincent Dolan

    Died 1985, aged 57; buried at Killogilleen, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Thomas Dolan

    Died 1987, aged 92; buried at Kilgevrin/Liskeavy, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Patrick Dolan

    Died 1890, aged 65; buried at Boyounagh, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 98 records for Dolan in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada96 records

96 records of the Dolan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 44
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 16
  • Other Canadian records 36
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Dolan

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Sarmatian, bound for Windsor, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Wilhelmina May Dolan

    Buried in 1995 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 85.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Victor James Dolan

    Died 1956, aged 67; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 96 records for Dolan in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom41 records

41 records of the Dolan name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 28
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 7
  • Other British records 6
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Dolan

    Died 1921, aged 78; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Dolan

    Buried in 1848 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 29.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Dolan

    Leinster Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 41 records for Dolan in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand23 records

23 records of the Dolan name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 21
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 1
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Teresa Dolan

    Died 1927, aged 67; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Edward Dolan

    Buried in 1965 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 45.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Sebastian Dolan

    Died 1927, aged 49; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 23 records for Dolan in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France3 records

3 records of the Dolan name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Rosalie Brouwn Dolan

    Born 1895 in Paris; died 1982 in Reims (Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Daniel Clement Dolan

    Born 1908 in the United States; died 1991 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Dolan in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands3 records

3 records of the Dolan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 2
  • Dutch population registers 1
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Joseph Dolan

    In the population register of London(GB); student, born 1905 in London(GB).

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Thomas Dolan

    Died 1918 in 's-Gravenhage, aged 36.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Dolan in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Dolan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Dolan is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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