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Downie History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Downie History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland
Scotland

Gaelic, otherwise known as Early Modern Irish, was used in Ireland from around the year 1200 until the 18th century. It is from this language that we found the first references to the name Downie as Ó Dúnadhaigh. The name is essentially derived from the word dún which means fort. 1

Early Origins of the Downie family

The surname Downie was first found in the twelfth century.

Early History of the Downie family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Downie research. Another 189 words (14 lines of text) covering the year 1420 is included under the topic Early Downie History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Downie Spelling Variations

Within the archives researched, many different spelling variations of the surname Downie were found. These included One reason for the many variations is that scribes and church officials often spelled an individual's name as it sounded. This imprecise method often led to many versions. O'Downey, Dawney, MacDowney, MacEldowney, Muldowney and many more.

Early Notables of the Downie family

Notable among the family name at this time was the O'Dunadhaigh sept found in Luchair, the old name of a region that lay on the borders of...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Downie Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Downie Ranking

In the United States, the name Downie is the 10,639^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Downie migration to the United States +

The 19th century saw a great wave of Irish families leaving Ireland for the distant shores of North America and Australia. These families often left their homeland hungry, penniless, and destitute due to the policies of England. Those Irish immigrants that survived the long sea passage initially settled on the eastern seaboard of the continent. Some, however, moved north to a then infant Canada as United Empire Loyalists after ironically serving with the English in the American War of Independence. Others that remained in America later joined the westward migration in search of land. The greatest influx of Irish immigrants, though, came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Thousands left Ireland at this time for North America, and those who arrived were immediately put to work building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. In fact, the foundations of today's powerful nations of the United States and Canada were to a larger degree built by the Irish. Archival documents indicate that members of the Downie family relocated to North American shores quite early:

Downie Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Downie who settled in New England in 1685
John Downie, who arrived in New Jersey in 1685 3

Downie Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Walter Downie, who arrived in New England in 1735 3
Joseph Downie, who arrived in North Carolina in 1774 3
Mary Downie, who landed in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1774 3
Christian Downie, who arrived in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1774 3
Christn Downie, aged 30, who arrived in North Carolina in 1774 3

Downie Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Andrew Downie, who landed in Ohio in 1844 3

Downie migration to Australia +

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

Downie Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Stephen Downie, Scottish convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Blenheim" on 11th March 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 4
Barbara Downie, aged 32, a servant, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sea Queen" in 1850 5
Thomas W Downie, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Sibella" in 1850 6
James Downie, aged 31, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Reliance" 7
Charles Downie, aged 34, a farm labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1857 aboard the ship "Tantivy"

Downie 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:

Downie Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Jane Downie, aged 20, a servant, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Slains Castle" in 1841
Miss Jane Downie, (b. 1820), aged 20, British settler sister of Mrs. Ann Collins travelling from London aboard the ship "Slains Castle" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 25th January 1841 8
Mrs. Betsy Downie, (b. 1825), aged 35, British settler travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1860 9
Mr. James Downie, (b. 1827), aged 33, British shepherd and ploughman travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1860 9
Mr. Colin Downie, (b. 1851), aged 9, British settler travelling from Bristol aboard the ship "Matoaka" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 2nd December 1860 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Downie (post 1700) +

David Leonard Downie (b. 1961), American scholar
Joyce Downie, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Maine, 1960 10
Cullen Leitch Downie, American politician, Village President of Alma, Michigan, 1885-86 10
Tyrone Downie (1956-2022), Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and The Wailers
Leonard "Len" Downie Jr. (b. 1942), American executive editor of The Washington Post
Nicolas Jon Downie (1946-2021), British journalist and soldier, a war correspondent, winning multiple awards
Gordon Edgar "Gord" Downie CM (1964-2017), Canadian rock musician, writer and occasional actor, lead singer for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip
Steve Downie (b. 1987), Canadian professional NHL ice hockey player
Robert Downie VC, MM (1894-1968), Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross
Penny Downie (b. 1954), Australian actress
... (Another 2 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Downie family +

HMS Repulse

Mr. Daniel Deveney Downie, British Boy 1st Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 11

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SEA QUEEN 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850SeaQueen.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SIBELLA 1850. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Sibella.gif
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RELIANCE 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Reliance.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 25) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html