2000
#1,026
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,251
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.58
Uncommon Last name
Donahue
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Donnchadha," meaning "descendant of Donnchadh" (a personal name meaning "brown warrior").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,291 Americans carry the last name Donahue. That puts it at #1,152 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,995 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Donahue surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Donahue with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 9,995
Census rank
#1,152
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,903 bearers of the surname Donahue in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1152nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Donahue, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Black (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Donahue
The surname Donahue is an Anglicized form of the ancient Irish Gaelic name O'Donnchadha. It originated in County Cork, Ireland in the 12th century. The name stems from the Gaelic word "Donnchadh" which means "brown warrior".
Donahue is one of the few Irish surnames that remained relatively unchanged when transliterated into English. This suggests the name was well-established before the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century. The prefix "O'" indicates the name is from an Irish clan or family group.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name dates back to 1356 in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle. It mentions a Donnchadh O'Donnchadha who served as a judge in County Cork. The name also appears in the Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century.
The Donahue surname can be traced back to the ancient kingdom of Duhallow in northwest County Cork. This region was ruled by the O'Donnchadha clan for centuries before the Norman conquest. The name is still most prevalent in County Cork, particularly in the towns of Kanturk and Mallow.
Notable people with the surname Donahue include Thelma Donahue (1904-1959), an American silent film actress, and Phil Donahue (born 1935), the pioneering American talk show host. Other examples are Miles Donahue (1884-1973), an American judge, and John Donahue (1905-1970), an American baseball player.
Ken Donahue (1928-2001) was a Canadian lawyer and judge who served on the Supreme Court of Ontario. He played a key role in several high-profile cases involving civil liberties and indigenous rights in Canada during the 1970s and 1980s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donahue
Among Census respondents with the surname Donahue, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Black (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Donahue bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Donahue surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 26,678
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 967
- Black or African American3.1% · 934
- Two or more races3.0% · 883
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 238
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 203
Timeline
Historical Census data for Donahue
Donahue appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,112
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,563
+312 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 10.70
Rank movement Down 86 places
2020
#1,152
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,903
-1,660 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 10.00
Rank movement Down 40 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,026 | 31,251 | 11.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,112 | 31,563 | 10.70 | +312 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 86 places |
| 2020 | #1,152 | 29,903 | 10.00 | -1,660 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 40 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Donahue surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,112 | #1,152 | -3.6% |
| Count | 31,563 | 29,903 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 10.70 | 10.00 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Donahue bearers went from 31,563 to 29,903 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 40 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,112 to #1,152.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Donahue
FAQ
Donahue surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Donahue?
Name Census estimates that about 34,291 living Americans carry the surname Donahue. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,995 residents.
How common is Donahue?
Donahue ranks #1,152 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,903 people with the surname Donahue. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,291), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Donahue.
Has Donahue become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Donahue went from 31,563 recorded bearers to 29,903. That is a decrease of 1,660 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,112 to #1,152.
What does the Census say about the background of Donahue?
Among Census respondents with the surname Donahue, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Black (3.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Donahue in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (26,678 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Donahue appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Hispanic (3.2%), Black (3.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Donahue (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Donahue mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Donnchadha," meaning "descendant of Donnchadh" (a personal name meaning "brown warrior"). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Donahue (10.00 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Donahue?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.