Donnelly
Ó Donnghaile · descendant of Donnghal
Donnelly is Ó Donnghaile in Irish, said oh DUN-a-leh, and means descendant of Donnghal.
Donn, brown, and gal, valour. A branch of the Cenél nEógain who were marshals to the O’Neills, and the name is still thickest in Tyrone.
How it changes
- A man: Ó Donnghaile
- His daughter: Ní Dhonnghaile
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Dhonnghaile
- The family together: Uí Dhonnghaile
Where it comes from
Tyrone
Also spelt
Donnelly, O’Donnelly, Donley
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.