An Irish surname, Donovan comes from the Gaelic terms ‘donn’ and dubh’ which refer to someone or something as dark-brown; also a chieftain. The spelling variations for Donovan include Donevin, O’Donovan, Donnavan, Donovon, Donevon, Donavan and Donavon. In Ireland the Donovan family name originated in County Limerick. From there the Donovan families lived in County Cork and County Kilkenny. In the 19th century many resettled in Canada, the United States and Australia. Most of England and Wales have a fair population of Donovan families. Those with the greater numbers are the city of London, Cheshire and Glamorgan in Wales. In Scotland the Donovan family name is located in many counties. Those with the greater populations are Angus, Lanarkshire, Argyll, Perthshire, Stirlingshire and Kincardineshire. Within the United States the original Donovan families resided in South Carolina, New York, Mississippi, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia, Louisiana and Maryland. Famous: Landon Timothy Donovan (professional soccer player), David Donovan (race car driver), Arthur Donovan Jr. (professional football player), Anne Donovan (champion basketball player in the Olympics), Tara Donovan (artist), Martin Donovan (movie film and theater actor), Lisa Donovan (actress and writer), Willard “Bill” Donovan (professional baseball player), Daisy Donovan (writer and actress in England), Mark Donovan (actor from Wales), Jason Donovan (actor and singer from Australia) and Gerald Donovan (novelist and poet from Ireland).