McDonnell

Gaelic: Mac Domhnaill

Variants: MacDonald

Motto: Toujours Pret
“Always Ready”

Name Meaning: “World Mighty”

Famous McDonnells:
Mary McDonnell – Actress (Battlestar Galactica, Dances with Wolves)
Patrick McDonnell – Creator of comic strip Mutts
Sanford N. McDonnell, chairman of McDonnell Douglas

McDonnells are to be found widely distributed at the present day all over Ireland and, without including the cognate surname McDonald in the count, the McDonnells in Ireland number nearly ten thousand persons. The McDonnells originated from a number of sources - the most numerous are descendants of a Scottish clan from Argyle whose chief was known as Lord of the Isles who came to Ireland in the thirteenth century as a military body and gradually acquired territory of their own both as grants for military service and by marriage.The name is sometimes confused with the surname McDonald, as both originate from the personal name Domhnall, meaning “world mighty”.

 

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