The Donahue surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 31,563 people carried this name — #1,112 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,350 people counted. That is up 1% from 31,251 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Donahue surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Donnchadha (“descendant of Donnchadh”), a personal name composed of the elements donn (“brown-haired”) + cath (“battle”).

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

In print

Donahue in American newspapers,
1869–1901.

Newspaper page from The Salt Lake Herald carrying the name Donahue
The Salt Lake Herald 1901-08-04
Newspaper page from The Pioche Weekly Record carrying the name Donahue
The Pioche Weekly Record 1878-07-27
Newspaper page from Raftsman's Journal carrying the name Donahue
Raftsman's Journal 1869-11-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 165,421 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Donahue in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

2,318 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Donahue. The most, 438, 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 Tasmania, at 2.9 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 659
Victoria 554
Tasmania 415
Queensland 369
South Australia 165
Western Australia 112
ACT (Canberra) 25
Northern Territory 3

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

Who carried it

People named Donahue,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Jack Donahue
    Jack Donahue 1806–1830 · bushranger
  • Peter Donahue
    Peter Donahue 1822–1885 · businessperson
  • David James
    David James 1853–1904 · painter
  • Edward James Donahue
    Edward James Donahue 1862– · politician
  • Jim Donahue
    Jim Donahue 1862–1935 · baseball player

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 137 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Donahue,
in the records of 5 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 States4,829 records

4,829 records of the Donahue name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,544
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,300
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 611
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 536
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 390
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 219
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 191
  • Sacramento County historic burials 25
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 9
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 3
  • New York State police and firefighter memorial rolls 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record David L. Donahue

    Born 1899 in Wisconsin. Enlisted 1942 at Milwaukee; textile mill worker from Chippewa County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1971, buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Morgan Jefferson Donahue

    Born 1944; from Alexandria, Virginia. U.S. Air Force; declared dead 1968 in Laos. Buried at Usaf Academy Cemetery, Colorado.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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 Rose Donahue

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Rome from Liverpool, aged 21; servant. From Cork, Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 4,829 records for Donahue in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada116 records

116 records of the Donahue name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 78
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 11
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 10
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 8
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 2
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Donahue

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the C of Washington, landing at Portland, bound for Hamilton, 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 John Patrick Donahue

    Buried in 1993 at St. Mary's Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 78.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Mary Donahue

    Died 1927 in Dartmouth, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 116 records for Donahue in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Australia115 records

115 records of the Donahue name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 53
  • Tasmanian Names Index 36
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 16
  • State Library of Western Australia indexes 5
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  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 James Donahue

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Pestongee Bomangee, sailing from Dublin in 1848. Native of Cork.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Michl Donahue

    Arrived in Victoria in 1857 aboard the Gipsy Bride, aged 24; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Michael Donahue

    Grazier of Mt Cotterill, Victoria; died 1931.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 115 records for Donahue in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). 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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Ireland3 records

3 records of the Donahue name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ann Donahue

    Died 1950, aged 83; buried at Moylough, 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 Michael Donahue

    Died 1959, aged 87; buried at Moylough, 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 Bridget Donahue

    Died 1963; buried at Moylough, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Donahue name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Fay Douglas Donahue

    Married in 1946 in Tilburg.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Donahue.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Donahue 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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