Show ContentsDagney Surname History

The name Dagney has a long French heritage that first began in the northern region of Normandy. The name is derived from when the family lived in the diocese of Coutances, in Normandy.

Early Origins of the Dagney family

The surname Dagney was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where they held a family seat at Aigneaux in the diocese of Coutances in Rouen, and were members of the aristocracy of that region. The first of this name on record was Herbert D'Aigneaux who was descended from the Vicomte Caen in the Cotentin. The family gave its name to the parish of Aigneaux. It is assumed that Herbert joined the Duke of Normandy in his conquest of England in 1066 A.D. Sometime before 1074 Herbert sold part of his estates to Bishop Odo of Bayeux, and also purchased other lands from Corbin, his son. The Aigneaux family had a very important barony consisting of many fiefs along the River Lavire for seven miles, together with St.-Contest at Amfreville on the island of Marie. They were the benefactors of many religious establishments.

Early History of the Dagney family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dagney research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1680 and 1736 are included under the topic Early Dagney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dagney Spelling Variations

Throughout the course of history most surnames have undergone changes for many reasons. During the early development of the French language, a son and father may not have chosen to spell their name the same way. Many are simple spelling changes by a person who gave his name, phonetically, to a scribe, priest, or recorder. Many names held prefixes or suffixes which became optional as they passed through the centuries, or were adopted by different branches to signify either a political or religious adherence. Hence, we have many spelling variations of this name, Dagney some of which are Daignault, D'Aigneau, Daigneau, Daignaux, D'Aiognaux, Daignaud, D'Aignaud, D'Aignault, D'Aigneaux, Daigneaux, Deneau, Deneault, Denyau, Denais, Deinout, Deinieau, Denault, Denaut, Denaux, Deneux, Denieau, Daieneault, D'Aieneault, Daineau, D'Aineau, Aignault and many more.

Early Notables of the Dagney family

More information is included under the topic Early Dagney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dagney family

In 1643, 109 years after the first landings by Cartier, there were only about 300 people in Quebec. Migration was slow. The fur trade attracted migrants, both noble and commoner. By 1675, there were 7000 French in Quebec. By the same year the French Acadian presence in the Maritimes had reached 500. The French founded Lower Canada, thus becoming one of the two great founding nations of Canada. The family name Dagney has made many distinguished contributions in France and New France to the world of science, culture, religion, and education. Amongst the settlers in North America with this distinguished name Dagney were Jean Daignault settled in Quebec in 1665 from Brittany; Claude Denault arrived in Quebec in 1686 from Ile-de-France; Jacques Denault arrived in Quebec in 1740 from Normandy.



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