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Dowling History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Dowling History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Ireland

The original Gaelic form of the name Dowling is Ó Dubhlaoich, derived from the words dubh, which means "dark featured, great, prodigious, burned" 1, and laoch, referring to a hero or champion.

Early Origins of the Dowling family

The surname Dowling was first found in Westmeath (Irish: An Iarmhí) in the Irish Midlands, province of Leinster, where they held a family seat from very ancient times. According to O'Hart, the family claim descent through the MacMorough family which are descendants of the Heremon Kings of Ireland and were Chiefs in the County Wicklow and Queen's County. 1

Early History of the Dowling family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dowling research. Another 83 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1544, 1590, 1591, 1615, 1628, 1785, 1787, 1801, 1844 and 1852 are included under the topic Early Dowling History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dowling Spelling Variations

The recording of names in Ireland during the Middle Ages was an inconsistent endeavor at best. Since the general population did not know how to read or write, they could only specify how their names should be recorded orally. Research into the name Dowling revealed spelling variations, including Dowling, O'Dowling, Doolan, Doolin, Dooling, Dowlin and many more.

Early Notables of the Dowling family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Thady Dowling (1544-1628), an Irish annalist and language grammarian. "was a member of an old native family in the part of Ireland now known as the Queen's County. Of his life little is known beyond t...
Sir James Dowling (1787-1844), was a Australian colonial judge, born in London on 25 Nov. 1787. His father, Vincent Dowling, was a native of Queen's County, Ireland, and was for many years a reporter...
His brother, Vincent George Dowling (1785-1852), was an English journalist, founder and editor of "Bell's Life" who received his earlier education in Ireland

Dowling World Ranking

In the United States, the name Dowling is the 2,305^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 2 However, in Australia, the name Dowling is ranked the 439^th most popular surname with an estimated 8,582 people with that name. 3 And in New Zealand, the name Dowling is the 869^th popular surname with an estimated 842 people with that name. 4

Dowling migration to the United States +

In the 19th century, thousands of Irish left their English-occupied homeland for North America. Like most new world settlers, the Irish initially settled on the eastern shores of the continent but began to move westward with the promise of owning land. The height of this Irish migration came during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. With apparently nothing to lose, Irish people left on ships bound for North America and Australia. Unfortunately a great many of these passengers lost their lives - the only thing many had left - to disease, starvation, and accidents during the long and dangerous journey. Those who did safely arrive in "the land of opportunities" were often used for the hard labor of building railroads, coal mines, bridges, and canals. The Irish were critical to the quick development of the infrastructure of the United States and Canada. Passenger and immigration lists indicate that members of the Dowling family came to North America quite early:

Dowling Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Francis Dowling, who arrived in Virginia in 1643 5
Fr Dowling, who landed in Virginia in 1643 5
Joane Dowling, who landed in Maryland in 1659 5

Dowling Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Philip Dowling, who arrived in Virginia in 1702 5
Nich Dowling, who landed in Virginia in 1704 5
Darby Dowling, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 5
Patrick Dowling, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1765 5
Charles Dowling, who settled in Maryland in 1775

Dowling Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

R K Dowling, who landed in New York in 1811 5
Richard Dowling, who arrived in America in 1812 5
Elizabeth Dowling, aged 28, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1813 5
William Dowling, who arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1817 5
John Dowling, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts in 1820
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dowling migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dowling Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Nathaniel Downing U.E. who settled in Belle Vue, Beaver Harboutr, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1783 6
Mr. John Dowling U.E. who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Penobscot Association 6
Mr. Lawrence Dowling U.E. born in Ireland who settled in Carleton [Saint John City], New Brunswick c. 1784 6
Mr. Samuel Dowling U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 6
Mr. Thomas Downer U.E. who settled in Saint John, New Brunswick c. 1784 6

Dowling Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patrick Dowling, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1816
Denis Dowling, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1826
George Dowling, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1829
Mary Dowling, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1833
James Dowling, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1833
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dowling migration to Australia +

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

Dowling Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Dowling, British Convict who was convicted in Berkshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss. Eliza Dowling, Irish convict who was convicted in Kildare, Ireland for life for murder, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Miss. Winifred Dowling, (b. 1776), aged 25, Irish convict who was convicted in Kildare, Ireland for life for murder, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, she died in 1862 8
Mr. John Dowling who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dick" on 2nd October 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Thomas Dowling, a blacksmith, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dowling 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:

Dowling Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Margaret Dowling, aged 20, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Edward P Bouverie" in 1873 10
Michael Dowling, aged 21, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Howrah" in 1874
Richard C. Dowling, aged 39, a schoolmaster, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Strathnaver" in 1874
Sarah Dowling, aged 39, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Strathnaver" in 1874
Richard E. Dowling, aged 16, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Strathnaver" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dowling migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Dowling Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

James Dowling, who settled in Jamaica in 1773

Contemporary Notables of the name Dowling (post 1700) +

Edward C. Dowling (1900-1974), American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Hammond, Indiana, 1956-68; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Indiana, 1956, 1960
Tom Dowling (d. 2018), American college football coach
Richard William "Dick" Dowling (1838-1867), Irish-born, American Confederate Commander, noted as Houston Texas' first prominent citizen and hero
Keeley Kathleen Dowling (b. 1983), American soccer defender, member of the United States National Team
Brian John Dowling (b. 1947), American former college and professional NFL football player, starting quarterback of the Yale University football team
Doris Dowling (1923-2004), American film actress, known for her roles in The Lost Weekend (1945), Bitter Rice (1949), The Blue Dahlia (1946) and her television roles: The Dukes of Hazzard (1980-1984), Barnaby Jones (1974-1979) and others
Constance Dowling (1919-1969), American actress and model, elder sister of actress Doris Dowling
William C. Dowling (b. 1944), American Professor of English and American Literature at Rutgers University, New Jersey
Austin Dowling (1868-1930), American clergyman, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
Bairbre Dowling (b. 1953), Irish-born, American actress
... (Another 51 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dowling family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. James Dowling (1887-1917), Canadian Able Seaman aboard the HMS Highflyer from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 12

HMS Repulse

Mr. Bruce Dowling, Australian Midshipman from Australia, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and survived the sinking 13

Citations +

O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/Dick
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 4th November 2011). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html