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Donolly Family History

Donolly Name Meaning

Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland.


Similar surnames: Conolly, Connolly, Donnelly, Dolly, Dooley, Donley, Conoly, Dooly

Search for a relative to learn more about your family history.

Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Donolly family from?

You can see how Donolly families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Donolly family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Donolly families were found in USA in 1880. In 1891 there were 9 Donolly families living in Lancashire. This was about 43% of all the recorded Donolly's in United Kingdom. Lancashire had the highest population of Donolly families in 1891.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Donolly surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Donolly ancestors do for a living?

Census records can tell you a lot of little known facts about your Donolly ancestors, such as occupation. Occupation can tell you about your ancestor's social and economic status.

What Donolly family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1,000 census records available for the last name Donolly. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Donolly census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search UK census records for Donolly

Passenger Lists

There are 477 immigration records available for the last name Donolly. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the UK, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 156 military records available for the last name Donolly. For the veterans among your Donolly ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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