The Donovan surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 40,410 people carried this name — #853 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 7,300 people counted. That is up 3% from 39,270 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Donovan surname

From Irish Ó Donndubháin (“descendant of (a person named) brown & black”), from donn (“brown”) and dubh (“black”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Donovan» (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 211 births for the Donovan 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 9,400 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 194
Leinster 14
Ulster 2
Connacht 1

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 144 people named Donovan 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 88
City of Buenos Aires 27
Río Negro 19
Formosa 10

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

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 25 people named Donovan.

Most of them — 20 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Gironde.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 20
Gironde 4
Hauts-de-Seine 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

38 people named Donovan is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 38

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 the first U.S. census, 1790

19 families named Donovan, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 102 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 2 other spellings. 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

Maryland 11
New York 4
South Carolina 2
New Hampshire 1
Pennsylvania 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

Donovan in American newspapers,
1892–1920.

Newspaper page from Fairhaven Herald carrying the name Donovan
Fairhaven Herald 1892-04-28
Newspaper page from The Seattle Star carrying the name Donovan
The Seattle Star 1920-11-16
Newspaper page from The Bossier Banner carrying the name Donovan
The Bossier Banner 1908-09-10

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 7,061 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Donovan in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

89,272 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Donovan. The most, 14,446, 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 Queensland, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 26,292
Victoria 23,564
Queensland 22,105
Western Australia 7,952
South Australia 4,428
Tasmania 4,353
ACT (Canberra) 405
Northern Territory 63

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

Who carried it

People named Donovan,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Charles Donovan
    Charles Donovan 1863–1951 · physician
  • Edward Joseph Donovan
    Edward Joseph Donovan 1864–1908 · politician
  • Bill Donovan
    Bill Donovan 1876–1923 · baseball player
  • William J. Donovan
    William J. Donovan 1883–1959 · lawyer
  • James G. Donovan
    James G. Donovan 1898–1987 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Charles Donovan: Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 205 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Donovan,
in the records of 9 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 States12,704 records

12,704 records of the Donovan name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 4,018
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3,910
  • Other U.S. records 4,776
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Arthur Edmund Donovan

    Born 1946; from South Ozone Park, New York. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Thomas P. Donovan

    Born 1917 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1942 at Boston; longshoreman from Suffolk County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1987, 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)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Katie Donovan

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Majestic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 19; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for Philadelphia.

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

Showing 3 of 12,704 records for Donovan 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. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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: 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).

Australia3,376 records

3,376 records of the Donovan name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,309
  • Tasmanian Names Index 691
  • Other Australian records 1,376
  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 Edward Donovan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Lord Auckland, sailing from Ireland in 1852. Native of Westmeath. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855. Married 1855 in Spring Bay, Tasmania, aged 27.

    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 Mary Ann Donovan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Harmony, sailing from Downs in 1828. Native of Kerry. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1836. Married 1836 in New Norfolk, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. 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 Catherine Donovan

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Australasia, sailing from Dublin in 1849. Native of Cork. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 3,376 records for Donovan 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) · 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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).

Canada807 records

807 records of the Donovan name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 734
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 25
  • Other Canadian records 48
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Agnes Donovan

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Louisa Donovan

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Scan, landing at Quebec, bound for London, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marie Donovan

    Buried in 2001 at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, aged 53.

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

Showing 3 of 807 records for Donovan 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 Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); 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).

New Zealand69 records

69 records of the Donovan name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 54
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 13
  • Other New Zealand records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Susannah Donovan

    Buried in 1919 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 71.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Percy Herbert Donovan

    Died 1942, aged 62; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary Ursula Donovan

    Died 1895, aged 25; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 69 records for Donovan in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri 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).

United Kingdom58 records

58 records of the Donovan name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 39
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 17
  • Other British records 2
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lilias Donovan

    Died 1988, aged 83; 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 Sarah Donovan

    Buried in 1846 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 44.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ann Donovan

    Will proved in 1937; of Blk, Blk.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 58 records for Donovan 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. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. 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).

Netherlands8 records

8 records of the Donovan name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 4
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Marij Anne Donovan

    Died 1878 in Roosendaal - Nispen, aged 25; teacher.

    Open Archives, West Brabants Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record George Harry Donovan

    Married in 1945 in Eindhoven.

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

Showing 2 of 8 records for Donovan in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France6 records

6 records of the Donovan 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 Christiane Marie Donovan

    Born 1936 in Le Bouscat (Gironde); died 1981 in Nogent-sur-Oise (Oise).

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

    Born 1928 in Great Britain; died 1994 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 6 records for Donovan 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).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Donovan name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Elisabeth Donovan

    Died 1951 in Gent.

    Open Archives, Archief Gent (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Norway1 record

1 record of the Donovan name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Robert Donovan

    Census of 1910: Skaare søndre, Onsø; born 1885 in Ny Seland.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Donovan.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Donovan 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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