Dunckley History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The present generation of the Dunckley family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in the region of Dinkley in the county of Lancashire. The surname Dunckley is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. As a general rule, the greater the distance between an individual and their homeland, the larger the territory they were named after. For example, a person who only moved to another parish would be known by the name of their original village, while people who migrated to a different country were often known by the name of a region or country from which they came.

Early Origins of the Dunckley family

The surname Dunckley was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Dunckley family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dunckley research. Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dunckley History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dunckley Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Dunckley include Dunkley, Dunkerly, Dunkleigh, Dunklee, Dunkersley, Dunkerley and many more.

Early Notables of the Dunckley family

More information is included under the topic Early Dunckley Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dunckley migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Dunckley were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Dunckley Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Edward Dunckley, who arrived in Virginia in 1638 1
Moses Dunckley, who landed in Maryland in 1668 1
Edward Dunckley, who landed in Maryland in 1677 1

Dunckley Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Maude Dunckley, aged 30, who settled in America from London, in 1904
Alice Dunckley, aged 33, who immigrated to America from London, England, in 1912
Constance Dunckley, aged 33, who landed in America from Morrinsville, Australia, in 1913
Thomas Dunckley, aged 37, who landed in America from Morrinsville, Australia, in 1913
Gwendolyn Dunckley, aged 6, who landed in America from Morrinsville, Australia, in 1913
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dunckley migration to Australia +

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

Dunckley Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Dunckley, (Hunkley), (b. 1798), aged 21, English convict who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Asiatic" on 5th June 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1842 when he was murdered by his wife 2

Dunckley 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:

Dunckley Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Dunckley, (b. 1850), aged 24, English settler from Bedfordshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Sussex" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 17th July 1874 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Dunckley (post 1700) +

Mark Dunckley (1908-1944), American actress who used the stage name Mary Lou Cook
Henry Dunckley (1823-1896), English journalist

Citations +

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 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html