Contents [hide]

Dee History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Dee History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The River Dee flows through parts of both Wales and England, forming part of the border between the two countries. South east of Cumbria, a part of the Craven region traditionally part of the West Riding of Yorkshire is home to another River Dee and of course, there is another in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

Early Origins of the Dee family

The surname Dee was first found in Cheshire where the name derives its name from the River Dee, which was first known as Deoua c. 150, an ancient Celtic river-name meaning "the goddess, the holy one." 1

Early History of the Dee family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dee research. Another 73 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1527, 1579, 1608, 1634, 1638, 1651, 1657 and 1720 are included under the topic Early Dee History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dee Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dee, Die and others.

Early Notables of the Dee family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Dee (1527- c.1608), Welsh noted mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I; and Arthur Dee (1579-1651), his eldest son who became a noted phy...
Duncan Dee (1657-1720), was an English pleader (an advocate in court), son of Rowland Dee, a London merchant, and grandson of Arthur Dee, M.D., physician to Charles I, was born 3 Nov. 1657
Francis Dee (d. 1638), was Bishop of Peterborough, 1634-1638 and was the son of the Rev. David Dee of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford. 2

Dee Ranking

In the United States, the name Dee is the 6,768^th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 3

Dee migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dee Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jon Dee, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 4
Samuel Dee, who arrived in Maryland in 1659 4
Marjorie Dee, who settled in Virginia in 1663
William Dee, who settled in New England in 1664

Dee Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Dee who settled in Carolina in 1774
Robert Dee, aged 33, who arrived in Carolina in 1774 4

Dee Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

David Dee, aged 28, who landed in Rhode Island in 1812 4
Thomas Dee, aged 22, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1834 4
B B Dee, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 4
John Dee, aged 12, who landed in New York in 1854 4
Dennis, Killian, Lawrence, Thomas, William Dee who all, who arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1870

Dee migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Dee Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Margaret Dee, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1833
Margaret Dee, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1834
Mary Dee, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1834
Darby Dee, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
Peggy Dee, aged 23, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dee migration to Australia +

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

Dee Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Peter Dee, a carpenter, who arrived in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. William Dee, (b. 1810), aged 22, English shoe maker who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 14 years for robbery, transported aboard the "England"on 31st March 1832, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1842 5
Isaac Dee, aged 21, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Navarino" 6
Thomas Dee, English Convict from Gloucester, who was transported aboard the "Aboukir" on December 24, 1851, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 7

Dee 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:

Dee Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Dee, aged 22, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Tongariro" in 1888
S. Catherine Dee, aged 19, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Tongariro" in 1888

Contemporary Notables of the name Dee (post 1700) +

Mary Dee (1912-1964), stage name of Mary Dudley, born Mary Elizabeth Goode, an American disc jockey, the first African-American woman disc jockey in the United States
Merri Dee (1936-2022), née Dorham, an American philanthropist and television journalist, best known for her work at Chicago, Illinois television station and national cable superstation WGN-TV (Channel 9) as an anchor/reporter from 1972 until 1983
Frances Marion Dee (1909-2004), American actress, best known for her role in the film An American Tragedy (1931)
Mike Dee (b. 1958), American college baseball coach
Roger Dee (1914-2004), pseudonym of Roger D. Aycock, an American science fiction author
Sandra Dee (1944-2005), born Alexandra Zuck, an American Golden Globe winning actress
Johnny Dee (b. 1964), born John DiTeodoro, Jr., an American heavy metal drummer
Robert Henry "Bob" Dee (1933-1979), American NFL football defensive end who played from 1957 to 1967, inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame
Ruby Dee (1924-2014), née Wallace, American Grammy, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award winning actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist
Marvin Robert Dee (1917-1975), American Republican politician, Member of Illinois State House of Representatives 20th District, 1973-74 8
... (Another 8 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dee family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Thomas Dee (1906-1941), Australian Leading Steward from Wellington, New South Wales, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 9

The Dee 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: Hic labor
Motto Translation: This is the difficulty.

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 26th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) NAVARINO 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Navarino.htm
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 18) Aboukir voyage to Van Diemen's Land and Norfolk Island. [These convicts appear to have all landed in Van Diemen's Land], Australia in 1851 with 280 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/aboukir/1851
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation - Roll of Honour. (Retrieved 2014, April 24) . Retrieved from http://www.findingsydney.com/roll.asp