O'Donoghue Surname: Origin and Coat of Arms
What does O'Donoghue mean, and where does it come from? Here is a brief introduction.
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Origin of the O'Donoghue name
O'Donoghue comes from Ó Donnchadha, "descendant of Donnchadh", a name meaning "brown warrior". The best-known sept settled around the Lakes of Killarney in County Kerry, where O'Donoghue Mór built Ross Castle, while O'Donoghue of the Glens held the mountain country nearby. Another sept lived in Ossory, in County Kilkenny. The spellings O'Donohue and Donohoe are the same name.
Our historical archives hold much more on the O'Donoghue name: dates, names and records of early bearers.
This overview covers the O'Donoghue name in Ireland. We also hold records of the name in other countries, such as the United States, England and Australia; your full pack is researched for your family's country of origin.
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Your full O'Donoghue pack adds the researched history, early records and migration. Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the O'Donoghue coat of arms for you.
O'Donoghue name FAQ
What does the O'Donoghue name mean?
Descendant of Donnchadh ("brown warrior"). Common variants include O'Donohue, Donoghue, Donohoe.
Where does the O'Donoghue surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States, England and Australia.
Is there a O'Donoghue coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals, not whole surnames, so there is no single O'Donoghue crest. Herald Lab paints a personalized O'Donoghue coat of arms based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).