Contents [hide]

Dearing History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Australia West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Dearing History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The history of the Dearing family name begins after the Norman Conquest of 1066. They lived in Kent, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Dearing family

The surname Dearing was first found in Kent where the family claim descendancy from "Norman de Morinis, whose ancestor, Vitalis FitzOsbert, lived in the reign of Henry II. Norman de Morinis married the daughter of Deringus, descended from the Norman Fitz-Dering, Sheriff of this county in King Stephens' reign. " 1

Derrington is a village west of the town of Stafford, in Staffordshire. The village dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was first listed as Dodintone and literally meant "estate associated with a man called Dod(d)a or Dud(d)a" from the Old English personal name + "-ing" + "tun." 2

Early History of the Dearing family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dearing research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1540, 1576, 1598, 1610, 1617, 1625, 1629, 1636, 1644, 1650, 1658, 1660, 1662, 1670, 1679, 1684, 1685, 1689, 1695, 1711, 1713 and 1749 are included under the topic Early Dearing History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dearing Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Dering, Deareing, Dearing, Deering, Derringer and many more.

Early Notables of the Dearing family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Edward Dering (1540?-1576), English Puritan divine who was descended from an ancient and still existing Kentish family, which claims to be of Saxon origin, was the third son of John Dering, Esq., of Surrenden-Dering, Kent. 3Sir Anthony Dering of Surrenden Dering in Pluckley, Kent (d.1636) was an early peer. His son, Sir Edward Dering (1598-1644), was an English antiquary and politician, Member of Parliament for Hythe and Kent (1629), also known for his Dering Roll, a 13th century Roll of arms, believed to be the earliest surviving English roll of arms currently owned...
Another 127 words (9 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dearing Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dearing Ranking

In the United States, the name Dearing is the 5,203^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Dearing family to Ireland

Some of the Dearing family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 48 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dearing migration to the United States +

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Dearing name or one of its variants:

Dearing Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Kath Dearing, who arrived in Virginia in 1653 5
Sam Dearing, who landed in Virginia in 1664 5
John Dearing, who landed in Maryland in 1665 5
Joseph Dearing, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1679 5
Sarah Dearing, who settled in Boston in 1679
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dearing Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Hester Dearing, who arrived in Virginia as an 'emigrant in bondage' in 1723

Dearing migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Dearing Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John Dearing, English convict from Sussex, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6
Mr. John Dearing, (b. 1786), aged 44, English waterman who was convicted in Norwich, Norfolk, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Clyde" on 20th August 1830, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. James Dearing, (b. 1789), aged 42, English seaman who was convicted in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Elizabeth" on 3rd October 1831, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Dearing migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Dearing Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Ffinch Dearing, who arrived in Barbados in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Dearing (post 1700) +

James Dearing (1840-1865), American soldier in the Confederate army who was made a brigadier general for his gallantry at the battle of Plymouth
Edgar Dearing (1893-1974), American silent film actor best known for his work with Laurel and Hardy
Bob Dearing (b. 1935), American politician, Democratic member of the Mississippi Senate
Walter Henry Dearing (b. 1883), American politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Richmond County 1st District, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1935; Candidate for New York State Senate 24th District, 1924 10
W. G. Dearing, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Kentucky, 1904 10
Gilman N. Dearing, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 1884 (alternate), 1912 10
George L. Dearing, American politician, Mayor of White Settlement, Texas, 1953 10
Frederick Dearing, American Democratic Party politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Norwich, 1911-12 10
Fred Morris Dearing (1879-1963), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Peru, 1930-37 10
Elmer O. Dearing, American Republican politician, Republican Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives, 1970, 1978 10
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dearing family +

USS Arizona

Mr. John D. Dearing, American Water tender Second Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 11

Citations +

Shirley, Evelyn Philip, The Noble and Gentle Men of England; The Arms and Descents. Westminster: John Bower Nichols and Sons, 1866, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th February 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/clyde
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th March 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/elizabeth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html