The O'Donnell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 43,460 people carried this name — #795 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,790 people counted. That is up 2% from 42,802 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the O'Donnell surname

From Irish Ó Dónaill, Ó Domhnaill (“of Domhnall”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «O'Donnell» (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 294 births for the O’Donnell name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 13,000 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 132
Munster 102
Connacht 51
Leinster 9

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

In print

O'Donnell in American newspapers,
1896–1922.

Newspaper page from Rock Springs Miner carrying the name O'Donnell
Rock Springs Miner 1922-01-20
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name O'Donnell
The Telegraph-courier 1896-04-30
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name O'Donnell
The Telegraph-courier 1896-03-26

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 144,745 pages in all carry the name.

In print

O'Donnell in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2010s.

83,943 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss O'Donnell. The most, 13,623, date from the 1930s. 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 36,840
Victoria 22,018
Queensland 10,672
South Australia 6,169
Western Australia 5,198
Tasmania 2,294
ACT (Canberra) 533
Northern Territory 63

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

Who carried it

People named O'Donnell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan
    Leopoldo O'Donnell, 1st Duke of Tetuan 1809–1867 · politician
  • Cathy O'Donnell
    Cathy O'Donnell 1923–1970 · television actor
  • Phil O'Donnell 1972–2007 · association football player
  • Peter O'Donnell 1920–2010 · novelist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named O'Donnell,
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 States5,532 records

5,532 records of the O'Donnell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,814
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 1,290
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 934
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 804
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 520
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 107
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 43
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 11
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 8
  • Riverside Cemetery, Asheville (North Carolina) 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Grant G. Odonnell

    Born 1919 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at Utica; farm hand from St Lawrence County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 2001, buried at Sunnyside Cemetery, Great Bend, New York.

    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 George Maurice Odonnell

    Born 1947; from Memphis, Tennessee. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Ngai, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Odonnell

    Arrived at New York in 1891 aboard the Furnessia from Glasgow and Moville, aged 20; laborer. From Glasgow, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 5,532 records for O'Donnell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia1,918 records

1,918 records of the O'Donnell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,317
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 498
  • Tasmanian Names Index 95
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 4
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 3
  • 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 Peter Odonnell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Clyde, arriving 1838.

    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 Richd Odonnell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Red Jacket, aged 18; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Rose Odonnell

    Died 1879 in Launceston, Tasmania, aged 60.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,918 records for O'Donnell 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). 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada9 records

9 records of the O'Donnell name in Canada
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 8
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Daniel Odonnell

    Buried in 1943 at Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Anthony Odonnell

    Listed at Halifax, Nova Scotia in the census and tax rolls of 1838.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Josephine Odonnell

    Buried in 1939 at Fairview Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

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

Showing 3 of 9 records for O'Donnell in Canada.

Counts: City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. 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).

Ireland2 records

2 records of the O'Donnell name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lawrence Odonnell

    Died 1945, aged 78; buried at Abbeygormican, 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 Mary Odonnell

    Died 1929; buried at Abbeygormican, 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).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the O'Donnell name in New Zealand Waimakariri District cemetery records, Canterbury
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Evelina Colleen Odonnell

    Died 1992; buried at Kaiapoi Public Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to O'Donnell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where O'Donnell 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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