| ![Show Contents]() Dolittle History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The spelling and overall form of Irish names tend to vary widely over time. The original Gaelic form of the name Dolittle is Ó Dubhlachta. Dubh, the first portion of this name, means black, while the second portion is likely derived from some obsolete Irish forename. 1 Early Origins of the Dolittle familyThe surname Dolittle was first found in County Clare (Irish: An Clár) located on the west coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. In England, the first record of the family was found in Rutland, where Hugo Dolitel was listed in the Pipe Rolls of 1204. Later, Walter Dolitle was found in the Assize Rolls for Yorkshire in 1219 and John Do Littel was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1275. 2 The fictional Eliza Doolittle appears in the play Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw in 1912. This famous play was adapted into the film My Fair Lady. Early History of the Dolittle familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dolittle research. Another 123 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1631, 1632, 1707 and 1719 are included under the topic Early Dolittle History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Dolittle Spelling VariationsDuring the Middle Ages, scribes listened to a person's name and then decided the spelling from there. Names, therefore, often had many spelling variations. The variations of the name Dolittle include: Doolittle, Dolittle, Dulittle, Doelittle and others. Early Notables of the Dolittle familyAnother 33 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dolittle Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Dolittle familyIrish immigrants began to leave the English-controlled Ireland in sizable numbers during the late 18th century. Many of these Irish immigrated to British North America or the United States in the hopes of gaining their own tract of farmland. This pattern of migration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine caused a great exodus of immigrants to North America. These immigrants differed from their predecessors in that they were desperately fleeing the disease and starvation that plagued their homeland, and many were entirely destitute when they arrived in North America. Although these penniless immigrants were not warmly welcomed when they arrived, they were critical to the rapid development of the United States and what would become known as Canada. Many went to populate the western frontiers and others provided the cheap labor the new manufacturing sector and the building of bridges, roads, railways, and canals required. A thorough examination of immigration and passenger lists has revealed some of the earliest people to arrive in North America with name Dolittle or one of its variants: John Doolittle of Lynn Massachusetts who settled there in 1643 and became Constable of Boston; Abraham Doolittle who settled in Wallingford and had many children, descendants settled in the town of Northfield Massachusetts and Belchertown New Britain, Connecticut, Winchester Conn. Torrington Conn..
- MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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