Donovan

D2O1N1O1V4A1N1
/ˈdɒnəvɪn//ˈdʌnəvɪn/

proper noun

A surname from Irish.

Similar
murphy
OriginIrish Ó Donndubháin →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

proper noun

alternative Donavan

  1. A surname from Irish.

    Brian Friedberg and Joan Donovan, researchers at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, documented how the campaign to inject IOTBW into the national consciousness through fliers was highly organized.

    2023 February 28, Judd Legum, “Is it "OK to be white"?”, in Popular Information
  2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
  3. The Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan.
  4. An unincorporated community in Johnson County, Georgia, United States.
  5. A village in Beaver Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States.
nounDonovan (plural Donovans)

plural Donovans · alternative Donavan

  1. archaicslangA potato.

    Synonyms: murphy

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA potato.

Similar
murphy
Also see
potato

Origin

  1. IrishÓ Donndubháin“descendant of (a person named) brown & black”
  2. EnglishDonovan

From Irish Ó Donndubháin (“descendant of (a person named) brown & black”), from donn (“brown”) and dubh (“black”).

More words from Irish

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Donovan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Donovan

MLA

“Donovan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Donovan. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Donovan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Donovan.

Source: Donovan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.