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Irish surname

Donovan: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó Donnabháin · 'descendant of Donndubhán' (brown dubhán, or a compound of donn, brown, and dubh, black, with diminutive ending)

Donovan and O'Donovan are anglicised forms of Ó Donnabháin. Woulfe (1923) says the O'Donovans, of the royal race of Munster, were first chiefs along the River Maigue in Co. Limerick and were driven to south-west Cork about 1178. In Matheson's 1890 survey Donovan (including varieties) was 67th among Ireland's principal surnames, about 9,900 people; 175 of the 211 birth entries spelled Donovan were in Cork.

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Coat of arms associated with the Donovan surname
Irish formÓ Donnabháin
Meaning'descendant of Donndubhán' (brown dubhán, or a compound of donn, brown, and dubh, black, with diminutive ending)
CountiesCork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Wexford
Other spellings1

Origin of the Donovan name

Woulfe: chiefs of Ui Cairbre Aedhbha along the River Maigue, Co. Limerick, with their stronghold at Bruree. About 1178 they were driven out and settled in Corca Laoighdhe (O'Driscoll's country), south-west Cork, keeping power there until the close of the Jacobite wars. Branches settled in Wexford and Kilkenny. A Tipperary O'Donovan family is of O'Maher stock instead.[1]

  1. c. 1178The O'Donovans are driven from Ui Cairbre and settle in south-west Cork.[1]
  2. 1809Scholar John O'Donovan born at Atateemore, Co. Kilkenny, 9 July.[3]
  3. 1848–1851O'Donovan's edition of the Annals of the Four Masters appears in Dublin.[3]
  4. 1861John O'Donovan dies in Dublin, 9 December; buried at Glasnevin.[3]
  5. 1890Donovan is 67th of Ireland's principal surnames, about 9,900 people.[4]

Where in Ireland

Co. CorkSettled in Corca Laoighdhe from about 1178; 175 of 211 Donovan birth entries in 1890.[1][5]
Co. LimerickOriginal territory, Ui Cairbre Aedhbha on the Maigue; principal stronghold at Bruree.[1]
Co. KilkennyA branch settled here; scholar John O'Donovan was born at Atateemore, Co. Kilkenny.[1][3]
Co. WexfordWoulfe records a branch of the family settled in Co. Wexford.[1]
Co. TipperaryAn O'Donovan family here is of O'Maher stock, not of the Munster royal O'Donovans.[1]

Notable people named Donovan

John O'Donovan1809–1861Irish scholar; worked on Ordnance Survey place names; translated and edited the Annals of the Four Masters.[3]

Other spellings

O'Donovan[1]

The Donovan coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the Donovan surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

Donovan crest gifts

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Donovan surname: questions

What does the surname Donovan mean?

Woulfe gives Donovan as an anglicised Ó Donnabháin, 'descendant of Donndubhán', explained as brown dubhán, or a compound of donn (brown) and dubh (black) with a diminutive ending.[1]

Is Donovan the same as O'Donovan?

Yes. Woulfe gives O'Donovan and Donovan as the anglicised forms of Ó Donnabháin, and also of a separate Ó Donnamháin family of Corca Laoighdhe.[1][2]

Where in Ireland is Donovan from?

The O'Donovans began as chiefs on the River Maigue in Co. Limerick (stronghold Bruree) and settled in south-west Cork about 1178. In 1890, 175 of the 211 Donovan birth entries were in Cork.[1][5]

Are all Donovans from the same family?

No. Woulfe notes a Tipperary O'Donovan family of O'Maher stock, and a separate Ó Donnamháin family seated in Tuath O Feehily, in Corca Laoighdhe, before the O'Donovans of Ui Cairbre settled there.[1][2]

How common is Donovan in Ireland?

In Matheson's 1890 survey Donovan (including varieties) was 67th of the hundred principal surnames, with about 9,900 people. Of the 211 birth entries spelled Donovan that year, 194 were in Munster and 175 in Cork.[4][5]

Sources

  1. Ó Donnabháin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/od/o-donnabhain.php
  2. Ó Donnamháin — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/od/o-donnamhain.php
  3. O'Donovan, John — A Compendium of Irish Biography (Alfred Webb, 1878), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/biography/JohnODonovan.php
  4. Principal Surnames in Ireland (table of 100 principal surnames, Births Index 1890) — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/principal-surnames-ireland.php
  5. Donovan — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/donovan.php

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).