Domnall (Old Irish)
Where does "Domnall" come from?
The Old Irish male given name 'Domnall', equivalent to the English name Donald, descends directly from the Proto-Celtic form '*Dubnowalos'[1]. This ancestral compound combined '*dubnos', meaning 'world', and '*walos', meaning 'prince or chief'[2]. The first element derives from the Proto-Indo-European root '*dʰubʰnós' meaning 'deep or hollow'[4], while the second element traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*h₂welh₁-' meaning 'to rule'[5].
Open questions
- The Proto-Indo-European root '*h₂welh₁-' is possibly connected to '*welh₁-' meaning 'to choose or wish', or alternatively to '*HweRdʰ-' meaning 'to become big or strong', though these connections remain uncertain. [3]
Full etymology tree
- Domnall (Old Irish), 'a male given name from Proto-Celtic, equivalent to English Donald'
- inherited *Dubnowalos (Proto-Celtic), 'a male given name'
- compound *dubnos (Proto-Celtic), 'deep'
- inherited *dʰubʰnós (Proto-Indo-European), 'deep'
- derived *dʰewb- (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix *-nós (Proto-Indo-European), 'Creates verbal adjectives from roots.'
- inherited *dʰubʰnós (Proto-Indo-European), 'deep'
- compound *walos (Proto-Celtic), 'prince, chief'
- inherited *h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to rule'
- compound *dubnos (Proto-Celtic), 'deep'
- inherited *Dubnowalos (Proto-Celtic), 'a male given name'
Ancestors
- *h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European)
- *Dubnowalos (Proto-Celtic)
Descendants and derived words
- Dòmhnall (Scottish Gaelic)
- Domhnall (Irish)
- Dónall (Irish)
- Dufenal (Old English)
Sources
- Domnall (Old Irish) - Wiktionary
- Dubnowalos (Proto-Celtic) - Wiktionary
- h₂welh₁- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- dubnos (Proto-Celtic) - Wiktionary
- walos (Proto-Celtic) - Wiktionary
- dʰubʰnós (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris