Gaelic sept

Donnelly

Ó Donnghaile

Also: O'Donnelly

“descendant of Donnghal, 'brown valour'”

🏔 Tyrone · Tír Eoghain

The sept's historic heartland, highlighted. People moved — a name can be found far from home.

The story

Hereditary marshals of O'Neill's armies from Castlecaulfield's lost fort of Ballydonnelly. Bare-knuckle champion Dan Donnelly's 1815 win at the Curragh was so mythologised his arm became a pub relic.

Their world Around 1500 — The Kildare Ascendancy. The English crown is too poor to govern Ireland directly, so it governs through the greatest of the Geraldines instead.

See them on the atlas ↗

What the name is made of

Ó Donnghaile
Ó — descendant of (originally grandson of)
Donnghaile — the ancestor, trade or place the name is built on

Find this form in the Irish-to-English index → · What Ó and Mac actually mean

Is Donnelly an Irish name?

Donnelly is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here.

The five answers, and why it is rarely yes or no →

From Wikipedia — “Donnelly (surname)”

Donnelly is an Irish surname. Also used as: O’Donnelly or Donley. It is derived from the Gaelic Ó Donnghaile meaning 'descendant of Donnghal', a given name composed of the elements donn and gal ('valour'). O'Donnelly was historically of the Northern Uí Néill's Cenél nEoghain, descended from Donnghal, the great-grandson of Domhnall, King of Ailech.

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Neighbours — other names from the same counties

Campbell · Tyrone Conlan · Tyrone Cooney · Tyrone Devlin · Tyrone Hughes · Tyrone Martin · Tyrone McGale · Tyrone McKenna · Tyrone McNally · Tyrone O'Hagan · Tyrone O'Neill · Tyrone Quinn · Tyrone Stewart · Tyrone Wilson · Tyrone

Quick answers

Is Donnelly an Irish name?

Donnelly is a Gaelic name: it was formed in Irish, from an Irish ancestor, before English was spoken here. In Irish the name is Ó Donnghaile.

What does the surname Donnelly mean?

Donnelly (Irish: Ó Donnghaile) means “descendant of Donnghal, 'brown valour'”. Origin: Gaelic sept.

Where in Ireland is the surname Donnelly from?

The historic homeland of the Donnelly name is Tyrone. People moved, so the name can be found far beyond it.

What is the Irish for Donnelly?

Ó Donnghaile. Related spellings: O'Donnelly.

Looking for the Donnelly family crest? Read this first — arms belong to people, not surnames, and the honest version is more interesting. Tracing Donnelly ancestors? The step-by-step guide.

Not your spelling? Try the full A–Z. Know more about the Donnelly name? Add to the story.