Show ContentsDaughtry History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The original Gaelic versions of today's Irish names demonstrate a proud, ancient past. The original Gaelic form of the name Daughtry is Ó Dochartaigh, from the word "dochartach," which means hurtful or obstructive [1] and in this case, it would be termed as a nickname.

Early Origins of the Daughtry family

The surname Daughtry was first found in at Inishowen, in the barony of Raphoe, in County Donegal, where they were a large and influential sept, and were kin to the O'Donnells.

They were one of the principal Irish clans to resist the Norman invasion of 1170 and were known as the Lords of Innishowen directly descended from the distinguished Irish General King Niall of the Nine Hostages, who was descended from the Heremon line of Irish Kings.

The MacDevitts, who exist in large numbers in Inishowen, are descended from David O'Doherty, a chief of Cinel Conaill who was killed in 1208. Some members of the MacDevitt branch migrated to the territory of Oriel, now counties Louth, Monaghan, and south Down. There the "D" was aspirated creating the early Anglicization MacCaveat, and then the variation MacKevitt.

Expanding their territory, they came to rule the peninsula of Inishowen in the 14th century. However, the poorly-timed and disastrous rebellion against the English crown led by Sir Cahir O'Dougherty in 1608, drastically reduced the power of the once powerful sept.

"The O'Doghertys were a powerful Sept in County Donegal, and were located in Inishowen Barony, of which O'Dogherty was Lord. The Doghertys or Dohertys are numerously represented there at the present time." [2]

Early History of the Daughtry family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Daughtry research. Another 61 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1587, 1608, 1677, 1755 and 1783 are included under the topic Early Daughtry History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Daughtry Spelling Variations

A name was often recorded during the Middle Ages under several different spelling variations during the life of its bearer because literacy was rare there was no real push to clearly define any of the languages found in the British Isles at that time. Variations found of the name Daughtry include Dockeray, Dockerty, Dockharty, Dogherty, Dougharty, Dougherty, Doherty, Doherety, Dohertey, Docherty, Docharty, MacDevitt and many more.

Early Notables of the Daughtry family

Notable among the family name at this time was Sir Cahir O'Dougherty (1587-1608), leader of the rebellion in 1608, the last Gaelic Lord of Inishowen. Angered by the confiscation of his lands for the Plantation of Ulster, he sacked and burned the town of Derry and killed the Governor, Sir George Paulet. He had quarreled with Paulet for some time and some claim that Paulet had assaulted him. The real reason for the...
Another 72 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Daughtry Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Daughtry Ranking

In the United States, the name Daughtry is the 4,609th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. [3]

Migration of the Daughtry family

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 Daughtry family came to North America quite early: Bridget Dogherty who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1849; Alexander, Charles, Cornelius, Daniel, Edward, Francis, George, James, John, Patrick, Thomas, Doherty, all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.


Contemporary Notables of the name Daughtry (post 1700) +

  • Dean Daughtry (1946-2023), American keyboard player with the Classics IV who had the 1968 hit "Spooky", co-founder of the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1971
  • Namon Leo Daughtry (b. 1940), American politician, Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives (1995-2017)
  • Leah D. Daughtry, American CEO of the 2008 Democratic National Convention Committee and chief of staff to Howard Dean
  • Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry (b. 1979), American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry
  • R. L. Daughtry, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1952
  • John B. Daughtry, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1912, 1936 (alternate)
  • J. W. Daughtry, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Alabama, 1932, 1940, 1944, 1948
  • Mrs. Harry Daughtry, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Virginia, 1964
  • Art Daughtry, American politician, Mayor of Montville, New Jersey, 2007
  • Gladstone Daughtry Gatling (1880-1954), American Democratic Party politician, Member of North Carolina State House of Representatives from Gates County, 1913-16 [4]


The Daughtry 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: Ar Ndutcas
Motto Translation: Our heritage


  1. MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
  2. Matheson, Robert E., Special Report on Surnames in Ireland with Notes as to Numeric Strength, Derivation, Ethnology, and Distribution. Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1894. Print
  3. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 3) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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