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Dilworth History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Dilworth History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Dilworth family

The surname Dilworth was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Dilworth by an unknown Norman noble who was under tenant of the King and was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. William de Dilworth succeeded to the estatesn in 1332.

Early History of the Dilworth family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dilworth research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1442, 1672 and 1780 are included under the topic Early Dilworth History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dilworth Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dilworth, Dillworth, Dillsworth, Tilworth and many more.

Early Notables of the Dilworth family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Thomas Dilworth (died 1780), an English cleric and author of a widely-used schoolbook "A New Guide to the English Tongue...

Dilworth Ranking

In the United States, the name Dilworth is the 5,453^rd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Dilworth migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dilworth Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

James Dilworth, who settled in Delaware Bay or River in 1682
James Dilworth, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 3

Dilworth Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

George Dilworth, who settled in America in 1741

Dilworth Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Christ. Dilworth, who settled in Philadelphia in 1808
Jane Dilworth, who settled in Baltimore in 1830

Dilworth migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dilworth Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Joseph Dilworth, who settled in Toronto in 1871

Dilworth migration to Australia +

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

Dilworth Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Matthew Dilworth, English convict from York, who was transported aboard the "Agincourt" on July 6, 1844, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 4

Dilworth migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Dilworth Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Dilworth, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1843

Contemporary Notables of the name Dilworth (post 1700) +

J. Richardson Dilworth (1916-1997), American businessman, known for being a lawyer for the Rockefeller family
Dianna Dilworth (b. 1978), American filmmaker and journalist from San Diego, California
Robert Palmer Dilworth (1914-1993), American mathematician who specialized in lattice theory, developer of Dilworth's theorem
Richardson Dilworth (1898-1974), American Democratic Party politician, born in the Pittsburgh area, 116th Mayor of Philadelphia (1956-1962)
Don Dilworth, American composer
Lee F. Dilworth, American politician, Representative from Mississippi 2nd District, 2000, 2002 5
Horace L. Dilworth, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Delaware, 1920, 1924 5
Danny Dilworth, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 2008 5
B. S. Dilworth, American Republican politician, Mayor of Grafton, West Virginia, 1919 5
B. G. Dilworth, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Dent County Democratic Party, 1949 5
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
"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 2014, November 24) Agincourt voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1844 with 226 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agincourt/1844
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html