First found in county Meath, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

During the 19th century thousands of impoverished Irish Families made the long journey to British North America and the United States. These people were leaving a land that had become beset with poverty, lack of opportunity, and hunger. In North America, they hoped to find land, work, and political and religious freedoms. Although the majority of the immigrants that survived the long sea passage did make these discoveries, it was not without much preseverence and hard work: by the mid-19th century land suitable for agriculture was short supply, especially in British North America, in the east; the work available was generally low paying and physically taxing construction or factory work; and the English stereotypes concerning the Irish, although less frequent and vehement, were, nevertheless, present in the land of freedom, liberty, and equality for all men. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s. Research into passenger and immigration lists has brought forth evidence of the early members of the Dunn family in North America: Thomas Dunn who settled in Wymouth, Massachusetts in 1647; Miss Dunn settled in Barbados in 1774; Mrs. Dunn settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1766; Agnes Dunn settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1767.

Motto Translated: Victory for the Dunns.

For more information on the last name Dunn, the PDF Surname History is available for purchase as well as other products.