The Donoghue surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,300 people carried this name — #9,810 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 89,300 people counted. That is up 3% from 3,195 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Donoghue surname

From Irish Ó Donnchadha (“descendant of Duncan”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Donoghue» (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 97 births for the Donoghue name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 4,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 13 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Kerry and Cork.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 82
Connacht 7
Leinster 6
Ulster 2

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

In Scotland’s registers today

Donoghue was recorded 22 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1076th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 25. 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

Donoghue in American newspapers,
1891–1923.

Newspaper page from The New York Herald carrying the name Donoghue
The New York Herald 1903-08-02
Newspaper page from El Dorado Daily News carrying the name Donoghue
El Dorado Daily News 1923-10-19
Newspaper page from The New York Herald carrying the name Donoghue
The New York Herald 1891-02-08

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Donoghue in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.

20,047 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Donoghue. The most, 4,101, 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 Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 8,336
Victoria 4,870
Queensland 2,797
South Australia 1,982
Western Australia 1,288
Tasmania 569
ACT (Canberra) 176
Northern Territory 11

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

Who carried it

People named Donoghue,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Alexander Donoghue
    Alexander Donoghue 1863–1931 · baseball player
  • Joe Donoghue
    Joe Donoghue 1871–1921 · speed skater
  • Steve Donoghue
    Steve Donoghue 1884–1945 · coach
  • John Donoghue 1796–1866
  • Timothy Donoghue 1825–1908
  • John Talbott Donoghue 1853–1903 · 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 Donoghue,
in the records of 6 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 States1,582 records

1,582 records of the Donoghue name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 788
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 308
  • Other U.S. records 486
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Thomas J. Donoghue

    Born 1910 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1942 at Camp Upton Yaphank, New York; watchman. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1977, buried at Long Island 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 Bridget Donoghue

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Anchoria from Glasgow, aged 19; house steward. From Sligo, Ireland.

    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 Daniel J. Donoghue

    U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War. Born 1938, died 1992; buried at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Massachusetts.

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

Showing 3 of 1,582 records for Donoghue in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (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).

Australia718 records

718 records of the Donoghue name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 233
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 215
  • Other Australian records 270
  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 Elizabeth Donoghue

    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)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Douglas Donoghue

    Died 1917 in France, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1918.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record William Wilfred Donoghue

    Born 1877 in Franklin, Tasmania. Married 1896 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 18.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 718 records for Donoghue in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Ireland25 records

25 records of the Donoghue name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Helen Donoghue

    Died 1994, aged 87; buried at Ballygar, 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 Donoghue

    Died 1982, aged 31; 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 Judith Donoghue

    Died 1815, aged 65; buried at Killererin (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 25 records for Donoghue 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).

Canada22 records

22 records of the Donoghue name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 7
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • Other Canadian records 9
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Oliver Hays Donoghue

    Buried in 1980 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 76.

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

    Died 1918 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record James Edward Donoghue

    Died in service in 1945.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 22 records for Donoghue 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 Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom21 records

21 records of the Donoghue name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 15
  • Stirling Council burial records 5
  • Welsh wills index cards 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Laurence Donoghue

    Buried in 1910 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 49.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record James Donoghue

    Will proved in 1940; of Llanelly.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Donoghue

    Cameron Highlanders. 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 21 records for Donoghue in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand4 records

4 records of the Donoghue name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 3
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Donoghue

    Died 1980, aged 43; buried at Ruru Lawn, 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 Leslie William Donoghue

    Died 1998, aged 81; buried at Buffalo Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    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 Cyril Donoghue

    Died 1979, aged 53; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Donoghue in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Donoghue.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Donoghue 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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