Dowding History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

Etymology of Dowding

What does the name Dowding mean?

The Irish surnames in use today are underpinned by a multitude of rich histories. The name Dowding originally appeared in Gaelic as Ó Dubhdin, Ó Dubhdain, or Ó Dubhdaing. In each of these possibilities, the first portion of the name is derived from the word dubh, which means black, while the second portion probably comes from some obsolete Irish personal name. 1

Early Origins of the Dowding family

The surname Dowding was first found in Dublin (Irish: Áth Cliath) located on the east coast of Ireland in the province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Dowding family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dowding research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1172 and 1596 are included under the topic Early Dowding History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dowding Spelling Variations

Names during the Middle Ages were often recorded under several different spelling variations during the life of their bearers. Literacy was rare at that time and so how a person's name was recorded was decided by the individual scribe. Variations of the name Dowding include Dowding, Douding and others.

Early Notables of the Dowding family

Mary Dowding of Dublin

Dowding migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet

Mr. Ebenezer Dowding, (d. 1792), British settler convicted in Wiltshire, England in 1789, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Admiral Barrington" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 2
Mr. Rachael Dowding, British settler convicted in London, England in 1790, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Mary Ann" leaving in 1790 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1791 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Dowding (post 1700) +

Keith Dowding, Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics
Peter McCallum Dowding (b. 1943), Australian politician, 24th Premier of Western Australia
Derek Dowding, Consulting Engineer
Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding GCB GCVO CMG (1882-1970), Scottish officer in the Royal Air Force. He was the commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain

Historic Events for the Dowding family +

HMS Royal Oak

Percy William George Dowding (1920-1939), British Seaman with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 3
Mr. Alphaeus Dowding (1892-1914), Newfoundlander from Newtown, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he died during this time
Mr. Harry Dowding (1892-1914), Newfoundlander from Templeman, who on the 30th March 1914 he was part of the Seal Crew of the "SS Newfoundland" leaving the ship to intercept the Stephano which took him to the hunting grounds, he disembarked to begin sealing, but was caught in a thickening storm, attempting to return to the Newfoundland he and the 132 crew made camp for two days the sealers were stranded on the ice in a blizzard attempting to return to the ship, he died during this time

Sources +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html