Given name & surname
Donnelly
“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”
Donnelly is a variant of Donnell. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Donnelly is a variant of Donnell. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Donnelly is a variant of Donnell. An origin associated with Donnell is Scottish.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1922. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Donnelly through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 38
- 38 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1922
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1986. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7 in 1922. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 218 as a first name in 2020; 30,193 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Donnelly’s family of names
Donnelly has a related form in Donnell. In English usage, Donnelly as a surname has a related form in Donnelley.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Donnelly
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Donnelly, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“a sweet melody” · “one who is wealthy”
98% boys · 2% girls
Orville
“from the gold town”
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Ottis
“a wealthy man” · “one who is acute”
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Olen
“filled with happiness”
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Oran
“surrounded by light” · “a pale-skinned man”
>99% boys
Olan
“the last of the ancestors”
>99% boys
Delmar
“a man of the sea”
>99% boys