The donnelly Surname
donnelly Name Meaning and History
Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Donnghaile
‘descendant of Donnghal’, a personal name composed of the
elements donn ‘brown-haired man’ or ‘chieftain’ + gal
‘valor’. It is claimed that most bearers of this surname in Donegal
descend from Donnghal O’Neill, 17th in descent from Niall of the Nine
Hostages; there were also other families of the same name in Sligo and
Cork.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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