Show ContentsDoom Surname History

The ancient roots of the Doom family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Doom comes from when the family lived in an area that was described by a downward slope. The surname was originally derived from the Anglo-Saxon word dun which means a hill.

Early Origins of the Doom family

The surname Doom was first found in Sussex. Another branch was located at Roosdown in Devon. "This place, which was formerly a parish, was anciently called Ralphdown, from its owner, Ralph de Downe, in the reign of Henry II." 1

Early History of the Doom family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Doom research. Another 329 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1226, 1270, 1327, 1350, 1379, 1407, 1445, 1549, 1570, 1609, 1619, 1628, 1631, 1662, 1666, 1710, 1779, 1805, 1810 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Doom History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Doom Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Doom has appeared include Down, Downe, Downer, Doune, Douner, Dounner, Downner and many more.

Early Notables of the Doom family

Distinguished members of the family include Andrew Downes, also known as Dounaeus, (c. 1549-1628), English classical scholar, one of the seven translators of the Apocrypha for the King James Version of the Bible. John Downe (1570?-1631), was an English divine, son of John Downe, by his wife, Joan, daughter of John...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Doom Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Doom family to Ireland

Some of the Doom family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Doom migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Doom arrived in North America very early:

Doom Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John B Doom, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 2


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. 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)


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