Show ContentsDail History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Dail is one of the many new names that came to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Dail family lived in Yortkshire. The name derives, however, from the family's former place of residence, Auby, Normandy, where they would have been referred to as D'Auby, meaning from Auby. 1

Alternatively the name could have been a local name meaning "farmstead or village in a valley," 2 and this may explain the multiple parishes so called. The Yorkshire and Leicestershire parishes date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when they were each spelt "Dalbi." 3

Early Origins of the Dail family

The surname Dail was first found in the North Riding of Yorkshire at Dalby, a parish, in the union of Easingwould, wapentake of Bulmer. 4 Dalby is also a parish in Lincolnshire, and Dalby Magna is found in Leicestershire. Dalby on the Woods or Old Dalby is also found in Leicestershire.

The earliest records of the family were found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379: Willelmus de Dalby, osteler; and Matilda Dalby. 5

Early History of the Dail family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dail research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1379, 1421, 1435, 1455, 1581, 1588, 1589, 1616, 1625, 1627, 1631, 1633, 1662, 1672, 1683, 1686, 1694, 1707, 1710, 1821, 1832, 1837 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Dail History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dail Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Dalby, Dalbie, Daylby, Dailby, D'Alby, D'Aubly and many more.

Early Notables of the Dail family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Richard Dalby (died before 1455), an English politician, Member of the Parliament of England for Gloucester from 1421 to 1435; Robert Dalby (died 1589), an English Catholic priest and martyr; Edward Dalby (ca.1616-1672), a Recorder of Reading, Berkshire; William Dolben (c. 1588-1631), a Welsh clergyman from Pembrokeshire; his son, Sir William Dolben KS KC (c.1627-1694), an English judge who...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dail Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dail Ranking

In the United States, the name Dail is the 8,069th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6


United States Dail migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Dail or a variant listed above were:

Dail Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Edward Dail, who arrived in New York, NY in 1811 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Dail (post 1700) +

  • Delmar Dail, American politician, Member of Missouri State Senate 6th District, 1933-42 8
  • Charles Calhoun Dail (1909-1968), American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1948; Mayor of San Diego, California, 1955-63 8


The Dail Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: In Deo spero
Motto Translation: I hope in God.


  1. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  2. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. 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)
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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