# Donnelly (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/donnelly/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 31,505 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,114 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,800 people |
| Change since 2000 | +1.9% (30,919 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From the Irish surname, from Ó Donnghaile (“descendant of Donnghal”), from donn (“brown-haired”) + gal (“valor”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Donnelly in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.2% |
| Two or more races | 1.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Donnelly in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Donnelly

- Meg Donnelly, American actress and singer (born 2000)
- Joe Donnelly, American politician
- Ignatius Loyola Donnelly, American politician (1831-1901)
- Ruth Donnelly, actress (1896-1982)
- Euphrasia Donnelly, American swimmer
- Jennifer Donnelly, American writer of young adult fiction
- Jack Donnelly, British actor
- Liza Donnelly, American cartoonist
- Jamie Donnelly, actress
- Phil M. Donnelly, American politician (1891-1961)
- Stella Donnelly, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- KAWS, American artist and art collector (born 1974)

## Similar surnames

Donley, Donnell, Daniel, Danley, Demello, Daniell, DeMille, Daniele, Dumlao, Duhamel, Damelio, Denley.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.