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Dart History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Dart History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Dart is one of the thousands of new names that the Norman Conquest brought to England in 1066. The Dart family lived in Devon, near the river Dart, from which the surname derives. 1

Alternatively, the name could have originated from the Old French word "dart 'a pointed missile thrown by hand', perhaps metonymic for a soldier or a hunter." 2

Early Origins of the Dart family

The surname Dart was first found in Devon where Ralph de Derth was recorded in 1242. A few years later Juhelinus de Derte was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls for Devon in 1275. The name is from Dart Raffe in Witheridge, Devon. Later again, John Dart was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls for Devon in 1524. In Gloucestershire, Walter Dert was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1221. 2

The family may have given birth to the parish of Dartington, in the union of Totnes, hundred of Stanborough, Stanborough and Coleridge, in Devon, two miles from Totnes 3 which is home to Dartington Manor, an historic hall and country estate of 1,200 acres dating from medieval times. One source claims the manor is "one of the most spectacular surviving domestic buildings of late Medieval England." Today it is the home of the Dartington Trust, which currently runs 16 charitable educational programs, including Schumacher College, Dartington Arts School, Research in Practice and the Dartington International Summer School.

Early History of the Dart family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dart research. Another 129 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1730, 1817, 1836, 1838, 1841, 1842, 1851, 1852, 1856, 1860, 1862, 1865, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1885, 1886 and 1887 are included under the topic Early Dart History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dart Spelling Variations

Multitudes of spelling variations are a hallmark of Anglo Norman names. Most of these names evolved in the 11th and 12th century, in the time after the Normans introduced their own Norman French language into a country where Old and Middle English had no spelling rules and the languages of the court were French and Latin. To make matters worse, medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, so names frequently appeared differently in the various documents in which they were recorded. The name was spelled Dart, Darte, Darth and others.

Early Notables of the Dart family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Dart (d. 1730), English antiquary, "bred an attorney, but meeting with little success in that profession, he turned to the church as a means of subsistence...

Dart Ranking

In the United States, the name Dart is the 9,349^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Dart migration to the United States +

Because of this political and religious unrest within English society, many people decided to immigrate to the colonies. Families left for Ireland, North America, and Australia in enormous numbers, traveling at high cost in extremely inhospitable conditions. The New World in particular was a desirable destination, but the long voyage caused many to arrive sick and starving. Those who made it, though, were welcomed by opportunities far greater than they had known at home in England. Many of these families went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dart or a variant listed above:

Dart Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ambrose Dart, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts about the year 1640
Ambrose Dart, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1654 5
Robert Dart, who landed in Virginia in 1657 5
Richard Dart, who settled in New London in the year 1664

Dart Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Geo Dart, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 5
Elizabeth Dart, who settled in Charles Town [Charleston], South Carolina in 1766

Dart Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Cyrus Dart, who settled in Savannah, Georgia in 1821
A W Dart, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
Anson Dart, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
W S Dart, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
P C Dart, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dart Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Mr. Frederick Adam Dart, (b. 1880), aged 24, Cornish mason, from Redruth, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 4th August 1904 en route to Balston Spa, New York, USA 6
Mr. Frederick Adams Dart, (b. 1880), aged 24, Cornish mason, from Redruth, Cornwall, UK travelling aboard the ship "St Paul" arriving at Ellis Island, New York on 4th August 1904 en route to Balston Spa, New York, USA 6

Dart migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dart Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Walter Dart was a fisherman of Petty Harbour in 1739

Dart Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Robert Dart, a planter at Twillingate, Newfoundland in 1823
Elizabeth Dart, who settled in Herring Neck, Newfoundland in 1851 7
Robert Dart, who settled in Exploits Burnt Island, Newfoundland in 1858 7

Dart migration to Australia +

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

Dart Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Dart, (b. 1797), aged 22, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 14 years for possessing a forged note, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 22nd September 1819, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 8
Charles Dart, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Platina" in 1839 9
Elizabeth Dart, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Platina" in 1839 9
John Dart, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Mary Ann" in 1849 10
Joseph Dart, English convict from Lincoln, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on April 16, 1855, settling in Western Australia 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dart 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:

Dart Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Dart, (b. 1842), aged 22, British farm labourer travelling aboard the ship "Amoor" arriving in Lyttleton, South Island, New Zealand on 1st July 1864 12
Eliza Dart, aged 21, a domestic servant, who arrived in Hawkes Bay aboard the ship "Inverness" in 1875

Dart 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. 13

Dart Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Miss Jane Dart, (b. 1618), aged 17, British settler travelling aboard the ship "The Dorset" arriving in Barbados in September 1635 14

Contemporary Notables of the name Dart (post 1700) +

Justin Whitlock Dart Jr. (1930-2002), American activist who helped to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Justin Whitlock Dart Sr. (1907-1984), American entrepreneur, founder of Dart Industries, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Rollin Charles "RC" Dart (d. 1943), American founder of the Dart National Bank, Mason, Michigan in 1925
Rollin Bashford Dart (1925-2016), American banker, chairman of Dart National Bank (1962 to 2005)
Joseph Henry Dart (1817-1887), English conveyancer, eldest son of Joseph Dart of Tidwell, Devonshire, Secretary to the East India Company 15
Raymond Dart, Australian anatomist and anthropologist
Gerald Francis John "Jack" Dart, Australian teacher, educational philosopher and playwright
Robert Thurston "Bob" Dart (1921-1971), eminent British musicologist, conductor and keyboard player
Raymond Arthur Dart (1893-1988), South African anatomist

Historic Events for the Dart family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Ernest George Dart, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 16

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 10th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PLATINA 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Platina.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The MARY ANN 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849MaryAnn.htm
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Western Australia, Australia in 1855 with 261 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1855
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 25 Nov. 2019
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html