Contents [hide]

Dix History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Dix History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland
England

The roots of the name Dix are found among the Pictish clans of ancient Scotland. The name comes from son of Dick which is a derivative of the personal name Richard. 1

Early Origins of the Dix family

The surname Dix was first found in Kirkcudbrightshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Chille Chuithbheirt), part of the present day Council Area of Dumfries and Galloway, former county in Southwestern Scotland, where they held a family seat from early times. They were descended from the ancient Pictish Clan Keith, and the first Dickson was son of Richard Keith, son of the great Marischal of Scotland, who died in 1249, and Margaret daughter of the third Lord Douglas. Hence the Clan has always claimed to be followers of the Douglas Clan.

"In Scotland it has been variously written at different periods, as Dicson, Dykson, Dikson, Diksoun, Diksoune, Dixson, and Dickson. They are descended from one Richard Keith, said to be a son of the family of Keith, earls-marshal of Scotland, and in proof thereof they carry in their anna the chief of Keith Mareschal. This Richard was commonly called Dick, and his sons, with the carelessess of that age, were styled 'Dickson.'" 2

This was a "Border surname. Thom or Thomas Dicson was the faithful follower of the Douglas in the surprise and capture of Castle Douglas on Palm Sunday, 1307. William Dicsoun witnessed a charter by John Skinner, burgess of Inverness, c. 1360, and William Dicson or Dicsoun appears as bailie of Aberdeen in 1398. Andrew Dicsoun held a land in Edinburgh, 1400, Henry Dikson, Scotsman, had a safe conduct into England in 1426 and William Dicson, Scotsman, had the same in 1445, and James Dekyson or Dekysoun was rector of Kirknutho, 1472, and prebendary of Guthre, 1474." 3

Early History of the Dix family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dix research. Another 379 words (27 lines of text) covering the years 1307, 1457, 1471, 1472, 1473, 1479, 1481, 1488, 1505, 1513, 1515, 1527, 1567, 1583, 1606, 1607, 1616, 1617, 1630, 1635, 1638, 1647, 1660, 1663, 1666, 1680, 1688, 1695, 1698, 1702, 1712, 1715, 1721, 1724, 1729, 1797 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Dix History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dix Spelling Variations

Although Medieval Scotland lacked a basic set of spelling rules, which meant that scribes recorded names according to their sounds it was not uncommon for the names of a father and son to be recorded differently. As a result, there are many spelling variations of Scottish single names. Dix has been written Dixon, Dickson, Dixoun, Dikson, Dyxson, Dyckson, Dicksoun, Dicson and many more.

Early Notables of the Dix family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was

John Dixon (d. 1715), was an English miniature and crayon painter, a pupil of Sir Peter Lely, was appointed by William III 'keeper of the king's picture closet,' and in 1698 was concerned in a bubble...
Robert Dixon (d. 1688), was a Royalist divine educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1635 and M.A. in 1638. 4
Thomas Dixon (1680?-1729), was a nonconformist tutor, probably the son of Thomas Dixon, 'Anglus e Northumbria,' who graduated M.A. at Edinburgh on 19 July 1660, and was ejected from the vicarage of Ke...

Dix Ranking

In the United States, the name Dix is the 3,421^st most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 5

Migration of the Dix family to Ireland

Some of the Dix family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 154 words (11 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dix migration to the United States +

Thousands of Scots left their home country to travel to Ireland or Australia, or to cross the Atlantic for the North American colonies. The difficult crossing was an enormous hurdle, but those who survived found freedom and opportunity in ample measure. Some Scots even fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence. This century, their ancestors have become aware of the illustrious history of the Scots in North America and at home through Clan societies and other organizations. Passenger and immigration lists show many early and influential immigrants bearing the name Dix:

Dix Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Anthony Dix, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1623 aboard the ship "Anne" 6
Hen Dix, who landed in Virginia in 1633 6
Edward Dix, who arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635 6
Edward Dix, aged 19, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Thomas & John" 6
Margaret Dix, aged 18, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Susan and Ellin" 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dix Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Edward Dix, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 6
Samuel Dix, who arrived in New England in 1730 6

Dix Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Dix, who arrived in Alexandria, Va in 1810 6
Wilhelm Dix, who landed in North America in 1855 6
J E Dix, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1855 6
Joh Wilhelm Dix, who arrived in North America in 1855 6
Johann Nikolaus Dix, who landed in North America in 1855 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Dix Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Ernest Dix, who landed in Arkansas in 1906 6

Dix migration to Australia +

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

Dix Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Charles Dix, (b. 1800), aged 22, English Farm Labourer who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for burglary, transported aboard the "Caledonia" in 19th June 1822, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
James Dix, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia 8
Mr. William Dix, British convict who was convicted in Wiltshire, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 9
James Dix, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fairlee" in 1840 10
Sarah Dix, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Fairlee" in 1840 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dix (post 1700) +

Teresa Dix, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from California, 2008 11
Roscoe D. Dix (1839-1912), American Republican politician, Michigan State Auditor General, 1897-1900 11
Raymond H. Dix, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Michigan State Senate 4th District, 1950 11
John W. Dix, American politician, Representative from Pennsylvania at-large, 1918; Single Tax Candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, 1922 11
John Adams Dix (1798-1879), American Democratic Party politician, Secretary of State of New York, 1833-39; U.S. Senator from New York, 1845-49; U.S. Minister to France, 1866-69; Governor of New York, 1873-75; Defeated, 1848, 1874 11
John Alden Dix (1860-1928), American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York, 1908; New York Democratic State Chair, 1910; Governor of New York, 1911-12 11
John Dix, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Corpus Christi, Texas, 1869-70 11
Isaac A. Dix, American politician, Member of West Virginia State House of Delegates from Nicholas County, 1903-04 11
Harry Dix, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Wisconsin, 1956 11
George A. Dix (1885-1959), American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1940 11
... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Dix family +

HMAS Sydney II

Mr. Gordon Kenneth Dix (1919-1941), Australian Acting Leading Stoker from West Pert, Western Australia, Australia, who sailed into battle aboard HMAS Sydney II and died in the sinking 12

Pan Am Flight 103 (Lockerbie)

Peter Thomas Stanley Dix (1953-1988), Irish Management Consultant from London, England, who flew aboard the Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt to Detroit, known as the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 and died 13

The Dix 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: Fortes Fortuna Juvat
Motto Translation: Fortune favours the Bold.

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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 30th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1824 with 9 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1824
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) FAIRLIE/FAIRLEE 1840. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1840Fairlie.htm
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 25) . 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
Pan Am Flight 103's victims: A list of those killed 25 years ago | syracuse.com. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/12/pan_am_flight_103s_victims_a_list_of_those_killed_25_years_ago.html