2000
#4,438
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,382
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.74
Rare Last name
Donley
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Donnghaile," meaning "descendant of Donnghal" (a personal name meaning "brown valor").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,242 Americans carry the last name Donley. That puts it at #4,776 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,586 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Donley 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 Donley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.2K
1 in 41,586
Census rank
#4,776
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,187 bearers of the surname Donley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4776th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Donley, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Donley
The surname Donley originated in Ireland, specifically in the northern counties of Ulster. It first appeared in written records during the 17th century. The name is derived from the Gaelic words "donn" meaning brown or dark, and "leath" meaning a portion or side. Together, the words form the meaning "brown side" or "dark slope."
This surname is believed to have originated as a topographic name, referring to a person who lived near a brown or dark-colored hillside or slope. It may have also been used as a descriptive name for someone with a dark complexion or hair color.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1665, which listed a John Donley residing in County Antrim, Ireland. The name also appeared in the Registry of Deeds for County Donegal, where a William Donley was recorded as a landowner in 1672.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, many Irish families with the surname Donley immigrated to the American colonies, particularly to Pennsylvania and the Appalachian region. Notable individuals with the Donley surname include:
1. James Donley (1737-1806), an Irish-born American soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War and later settled in Virginia.
2. John Donley (1771-1856), an American farmer and landowner in Ohio, known for his contribution to the early settlement of the state.
3. Sarah Donley (1822-1905), a pioneer and one of the first female settlers in California during the Gold Rush era.
4. William Donley (1848-1924), an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Wheeling, West Virginia, from 1893 to 1895.
5. Margaret Donley Noonan (1867-1945), an American educator and women's rights activist who worked to establish educational opportunities for girls in rural Pennsylvania.
Throughout its history, the Donley surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Donleys Brae in County Antrim and Donleys Hill in County Tyrone. These place names likely originated from the presence of Donley families in those areas and reflect the topographic nature of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donley
Among Census respondents with the surname Donley, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Donley 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 Donley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.5% · 5,929
- Black or African American9.0% · 650
- Two or more races3.9% · 277
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 275
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 39
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Donley
Donley 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
#4,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,589
+207 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 2.57
Rank movement Down 237 places
2020
#4,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,187
-402 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.40
Rank movement Down 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,438 | 7,382 | 2.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,675 | 7,589 | 2.57 | +207 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 237 places |
| 2020 | #4,776 | 7,187 | 2.40 | -402 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 101 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 Donley 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 | #4,675 | #4,776 | -2.2% |
| Count | 7,589 | 7,187 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.57 | 2.40 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Donley bearers went from 7,589 to 7,187 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,675 to #4,776.
FAQ
Donley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Donley?
Name Census estimates that about 8,242 living Americans carry the surname Donley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,586 residents.
How common is Donley?
Donley ranks #4,776 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,187 people with the surname Donley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,242), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Donley.
Has Donley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Donley went from 7,589 recorded bearers to 7,187. That is a decrease of 402 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,675 to #4,776.
What does the Census say about the background of Donley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Donley, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Donley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.5% (5,929 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Donley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.5%), Black (9.0%), Two or More Races (3.9%). 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 Donley (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 Donley mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Donnghaile," meaning "descendant of Donnghal" (a personal name meaning "brown valor"). 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 Donley (2.40 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 common is the surname Donley?
Find out how many people have the last name Donley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.