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Dockery History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Dockery History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The original Gaelic versions of today's Irish names demonstrate a proud, ancient past. The original Gaelic form of the name Dockery 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 Dockery family

The surname Dockery 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 Dockery family

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

Dockery Spelling Variations

The Middle Ages saw a great number of spelling variations for surnames common to the Irish landscape. One reason for these variations is the fact that surnames were not rigidly fixed by this period. The following variations for the name Dockery were encountered in the archives: Dockeray, Dockerty, Dockharty, Dogherty, Dougharty, Dougherty, Doherty, Doherety, Dohertey, Docherty, Docharty, MacDevitt and many more.

Early Notables of the Dockery 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 Dockery Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dockery Ranking

In the United States, the name Dockery is the 2,895^th most popular surname with an estimated 9,948 people with that name. 3

Dockery migration to the United States +

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 Dockery family came to North America quite early:

Dockery Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Daniel Dockery, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1764 4

Dockery Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Ellen Dockery, aged 60, who landed in America from Leitrim, in 1893
James Dockery, aged 48, who landed in America, in 1893
Kate Dockery, aged 20, who settled in America from Roscommon, in 1893
Bridget Dockery, aged 34, who landed in America from Stokestown, Co. Roscommon, in 1897

Dockery Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Joseph Dockery, aged 17, who settled in America from Carriglen Co. Lutrim, in 1905
James A. Dockery, aged 23, who immigrated to the United States from Dublin, in 1905
Kate Dockery, aged 19, who landed in America from Boyle, Ireland, in 1907
Bridget Dockery, aged 28, who immigrated to the United States from Kilnore, Ireland, in 1908
Annie Dockery, aged 18, who landed in America from Casterea, Ireland, in 1908
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Dockery (post 1700) +

Wayne Dockery (1941-2018), American jazz double bassist who worked with George Benson, Sonny Fortune, Eddie Henderson and many more
Samuel Dockery (1929-2015), nicknamed Sure-Footed Sam, American hard bop pianist
Kevin Dockery, American fiction and nonfiction author and military historian
James Dockery (b. 1988), American football cornerback
Paula Dockery, Republican Party member of the Florida Senate
Sean Areon Dockery (b. 1983), American basketball player
Alexander Monroe Dockery (1845-1926), United States Representative
John "Rex" Dockery (1942-1983), American football player and coach
David S. Dockery (b. 1952), the American 15th president of Union University
Alfred Dockery (1797-1875), American Congressional Representative
... (Another 15 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Dockery 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

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
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
"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)