The Donley surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,589 people carried this name — #4,675 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 38,900 people counted. That is up 3% from 7,382 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, Donley was counted together with Donally: 41 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 187 people lived in those households, 4.6 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Donally, Donaldly, Donaley, Donaly, Donelly, Donely, Donley, Donly, Donnalay, Donnally, Donelly, Donnely, Donolly. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 20
Maryland 5
New York 4
Virginia 4
South Carolina 3
Massachusetts 2
North Carolina 2
Vermont 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 237 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Donley in American newspapers,
1914–1915.

Newspaper page from Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser carrying the name Donley
Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser 1914-10-29
Newspaper page from Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser carrying the name Donley
Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser 1915-11-17
Newspaper page from Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser carrying the name Donley
Newark Evening Star And Newark Advertiser 1914-12-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 24,195 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Donley in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1980s.

2,464 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Donley. The most, 900, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.7 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,415
Queensland 323
Victoria 259
Western Australia 187
South Australia 166
Tasmania 105
ACT (Canberra) 4
Northern Territory 2

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

Who carried it

People named Donley,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Joseph Benton Donley
    Joseph Benton Donley 1838–1917 · lawyer
  • Roy Donley
    Roy Donley 1885–1939 · politician
  • Manuel Donley
    Manuel Donley 1925–2020 · musician
  • Stockton P. Donley 1821–1871
  • Willis E. Donley 1901–1985 · politician
  • George Donley 1914–1997 · painter

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Donley,
in the records of 4 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 States658 records

658 records of the Donley name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 241
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 115
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 102
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 89
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 48
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 42
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 20
  • Sacramento County historic burials 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James A. Donley

    Born 1907 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at New York City; sales agent from Kings County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1989, buried at Calverton National Cemetery, New York.

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

    Arrived at New York in 1853 aboard the Princeton from Liverpool, aged 21; domestic. From Monaghan, Ireland; bound for Boston.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Glenn E. Donley

    U.S. Army veteran. Born 1937, died 1995; buried at Olive Furnace Cemetery, Pedro, Ohio.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 658 records for Donley in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia42 records

42 records of the Donley name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 19
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 8
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 6
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • State Library of Western Australia 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 Arthur Donley

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Norfolk, arriving 1837; certificate of freedom 1843.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Donley

    Arrived in Queensland in 1890 aboard the Taroba, aged 16.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas James Donley

    Retired waterside worker of East Hawthorn, Victoria; died 1977.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for Donley in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · 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); 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).

Canada17 records

17 records of the Donley name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 2
  • Halifax municipal cemeteries 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James R. Donley

    Buried in 1986 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 78.

    Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Rebecca Delighta Donley

    Died 1967 in Amherst, Cumberland, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Samuel Donley

    Married 1888 in Middleton, Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

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

Showing 3 of 17 records for Donley in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Donley name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Donley

    Died 1965, aged 84; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Donley.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Donley 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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