O'Donoghue History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of O'Donoghue

What does the name O'Donoghue mean?

The many Irish surnames in use today have long rich histories behind them. The name O'Donoghue originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Donnchadha, which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donagh. 1

Early Origins of the O'Donoghue family

The surname O'Donoghue was first found in County Kerry (Irish:Ciarraí) part of the former County Desmond (14th-17th centuries), located in Southwestern Ireland, in Munster province, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the O'Donoghue family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our O'Donoghue research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1640, 1811, 1812 and 1893 are included under the topic Early O'Donoghue History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

O'Donoghue Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, exact spellings for people's name did not exist. It was up to the literate scribe that was recording a person's name to decide how to spell his name. Names, therefore, often had many spelling variations. The variations of the name O'Donoghue include: Donoghue, Donaghoe, Donaho, Donahoe, Donough, Donahue, Donahow, Doneghoe, Donehue, Donighue, Donohoe,Donahugh, Donohough, Donohow, Donohue, Donaughue, O'Donoghue, Dunphy, Donaghie, Donaghy and many more.

Early Notables of the O'Donoghue family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

John O'Donoghue (1812-1893), Irish author of "A Historical Memoir of the O'Briens"
Patrick Donohoe (1811- Daniel O'Donoghue the Mannikin traitor

O'Donoghue Ranking

In the United States, the name O'Donoghue is the 17,632^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

O'Donoghue migration to the United States +

A great wave of Irish migration occurred during the 19th century as a direct result of English colonial rule and tight-fisted absentee landlords. Many of these Irish immigrants boarded passenger ships bound for North America. Those who migrated early enough were given land in either British North America or the United States; those who came in the late 19th century were typically employed in industrial centers as laborers. At whatever age they undertook the dangerous passage to North America, those Irish immigrants were essential to the speedy development of the two infant nations to which they arrived, whether they broke and settled land, helped build canals, bridges, and railroads, or produced products for consumer consumption. An examination of immigration and passenger lists has uncovered a large number of immigrants bearing the name O'Donoghue or one of its variants:

O'Donoghue Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Bdgt. O'Donoghue, aged 26, who immigrated to the United States from Killarny, in 1900
Cornelius J. O'Donoghue, aged 22, who landed in America from Cork, Ireland, in 1907
Edmund O'Donoghue, aged 19, who settled in America from Newcastle, Ireland, in 1908
Denis O'Donoghue, aged 35, who immigrated to the United States from Raheenagh, Ireland, in 1909
Christine O'Donoghue, aged 24, who settled in America from Cork, Ireland, in 1912
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

O'Donoghue migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

O'Donoghue Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

D. O'Donoghue, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Viscount Canning" in 1865
Alexander O'Donoghue, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "British King" in 1883
Betty O'Donoghue, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "British King" in 1883
Dan O'Donoghue, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "British King" in 1883

Contemporary Notables of the name O'Donoghue (post 1700) +

Tony O'Donoghue (1936-2023), Irish sports broadcaster for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)
Patrick O'Donoghue (1934-2021), Irish Roman Catholic prelate, the fifth Bishop of Lancaster from 2001 to 2009
Thomas O'Donoghue (1940-2020), Irish hurler, an All-Ireland Championship winner with the Cork senior hurling team in 1966
David James O'Donoghue, Irish author of "The Poets of Ireland"
Martin O'Donoghue (b. 1933), Irish economist and Fianna Fáil politician
John O'Donoghue (b. 1956), Irish Fianna Fáil politician, former cabinet minister and current Speaker of the House
Florence O'Donoghue (1895-1967), Irish historian and intelligence specialist
Daniel O'Donoghue (d. 1889), Irish politician
Bernard O'Donoghue (b. 1945), Irish poet and academic
Lowitja O'Donoghue AC, CBE, DSG, (1932-2024), also known as Lois O'Donoghue and Lois Smart, was an Australian public administrator and Indigenous rights advocate
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the O'Donoghue family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Thomas O'Donoghue (b. 1916), British Leading Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 3

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html