Dentte History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Dentte is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in the places named Dent in Cumberland and West Yorkshire. Dentte is a local surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. There are a variety of types of local surnames, some of which include: topographic surnames, which could be given to a person who lived beside any physical feature, such as a hill, stream, church or type of tree. Habitation names form the other broad category of surnames that were derived from place-names. They were derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. Other local names are derived from the names of houses, manors, estates, regions, and entire counties. The surname Dentte comes from a British hill name, which is cognate with the Old Irish words dinn or dind, which mean hill. The earliest records of the surname Dentte found bearers of the name to be in Yorkshire, on the border of Westmorland (now part of Cumbria).

Early Origins of the Dentte family

The surname Dentte was first found in West Riding of Yorkshire (now Cumbria) at Dent, a village and civil parish in the parish of Sedbergh, in Dentdale, a narrow valley on the western slopes of the Pennines. 1

The origin of the place name is uncertain; it may have been a river name, but was first recorded as Denet c. 1202. 2

Thomas de Dent ( Dyvelyn, Denton, or Dublin) (died after 1361) was an English-born cleric and judge who held high office in Ireland during the reign of King Edward III. He was born at Dent, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He was sometimes known as "Thomas Dyvelyn," or "Thomas of Dublin", or as Thomas Denton.

Early History of the Dentte family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dentte research. Another 144 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1131, 1571, 1575, 1576, 1579, 1580, 1584, 1607, 1630, 1676, 1680 and 1689 are included under the topic Early Dentte History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dentte Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Dentte are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Dentte include: Dent, Dente, Dentt, Dentte and others.

Early Notables of the Dentte family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Col. Thomas Dent, Sr., (1630-1676), Justice, Sheriff, and member of the Lower House of the Maryland General Assembly.Arthur Dent (d. 1607), was an English Puritan divine, matriculated as a pensioner of Christ's College, Cambridge, in November 1571, graduated B.A. in 1575-1576, M.A. in 1579, and was on 17 Dec. 1580 instituted to the rectory of South Shoebury, Essex. "About 1584 he was much troubled by Aylmer, his diocesan, for refusing to wear the surplice and omitting the sign of the cross in baptism. His name is appended to the petition sent to the...
Another 115 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dentte Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dentte family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Dentte or a variant listed above: Rich and Jo Dent who were banished to Barbados in 1635; and later transferred to the mainland. Eliza Dent settled in Virginia in 1643; Francis Dent settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1630.

The Dentte 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: Concordia et industria
Motto Translation: By concord and industry.

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)