Dring History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Dring family

The surname Dring was first found in Northumberland the family was first recorded as a landowner with grants from Gospatrick, the Earl of Northumberland in 1072.

The origin of the name is most interesting with noted authorities disagreeing widely. "Sir Henry Ellis, in his Introduction to Domesday, says: 'The drenchs or drenghs were of the description of allodial tenants, and from the few entries in which they occur, it certainly appears that the allotments of territory which they possessed were held as manors.' But there are proofs of drengage having been far from a free tenure, which both Spelman and Coke consider it; for it appears from the Boldon Book that the services of the drengh were to plough, sow, and harrow a portion of the bishop of Durham's land; to keep a dog and horse for the bishop's use, and a cart to convey his wine; to attend the chase with dogs and ropes, and perform certain harvest works. Spelman says the drengs were such as, being at the Conquest put out of their estate, were afterwards restored. In Lye's Saxon Dictionary, dreng is defined as 'miles,' vir fortis. Halliwell gives a different definition; he says 'Drenges, a class of men who held a rank between the Baron and thayn. Hawelok.' The ordinary interpretation would be Soldiers." 1

One fact cannot be disputed; the family was from northern England. "Dring was the name of the mayor of Nottingham in 1651 and 1658 (Deering's 'Nottingham'). As Dreng, it occurred in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire in the 13th century. There was a family of Dring in Marlborough, Wiltshire, in the 17th century." 2

As far as entries in various rolls, we found the following: Hodgson's History of Northumberland listed Dreng de Trocchelai in 1161 and William filius Patrick Dring in 1219. The Pipe Rolls of Northumberland listed Creng de Calualea in 1161. 3 Kirby's Quest listed William Dreng in Somerset, temp. 1 Edward III. 4 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list John Dreng in Yorkshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 list Robertus Dring. 5

Early History of the Dring family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dring research. Another 55 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1161, 1201, 1668, 1680, 1682 and 1688 are included under the topic Early Dring History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dring Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dreng, Dring, Tring, Thring, Drenge, Dringe and others.

Early Notables of the Dring family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

Thomas Dring (died 1668), a London publisher and bookseller who primarily specialized in the publication of law books, but also issued works in a range of subjects including English Renaissance drama...
Rawlins Dring (fl. 1688), was an English physician from Bruton, Somersetshire. He was Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford in 1682 and practiced at Sherborne, Dorset. 6

Dring migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dring Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Dring, who arrived in Maryland in 1663 7

Dring migration to Australia +

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

Dring Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Francis Dring, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Johnson Dring, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Anson" on September 23, 1843, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 9
Mr. William Dring, English ploughman who was convicted in Lincolnshire, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Equestrian" on 30th June 1845, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 10
Mr. Hill Dring, English convict who was convicted in Boston, Lincolnshire, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Bangalore" on 1st January 1850, arriving in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia 11
William Dring, aged 23, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1850 aboard the ship "Fatima" 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dring 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:

Dring Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Dring, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rob Roy" in 1865

Contemporary Notables of the name Dring (post 1700) +

James Dring, American songwriter, co-writer for the soundtrack album Cadillac Records: Music From the Motion Picture for the film Cadillac Records
Dennis William Dring (1904-1990), English portrait painter who completed several portrait commissions for the War Artists' Advisory Committee during World War II
Raymond "Ray" Dring (1924-2003), English former professional footballer who played for Huddersfield Town (1947-1948)
Clive Frederick Dring (b. 1934), English cricketer who played for Kent (1951-1955)
Madeleine Winefride Isabelle Dring (1923-1977), English composer and actress
Mr. Richard Dring, British sheriff, held the joint position of Sheriff of Nottingham, England from 1630 to 1631
Donald Dring, British contemporary mycologist, eponym of Dring's horned toad or Dring's horned frog (Xenophrys dringi)
Simon John Dring, British award-winning foreign correspondent, television producer and presenter
Edgar Percy Dring (1896-1955), Australian politician, Member for Ashburnham (1941-1950) and for Auburn (1950-1955)
Lawrence "Lawrie" Dring (1931-2012), British Scouter, one of the founding members of the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association (BPSA) and the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS)

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Anson voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1843 with 499 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/anson/1843
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th May 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/equestrian
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/australasia
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The barque FATIMA 1850, 521 tons. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1850Fatima.htm