Domville History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Domville came to England with the ancestors of the Domville family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Domville family lived in Cheshire. The family was originally from Dumville, in the arrondisement of Lisieux in Normandy. "The family, who probably entered England at the Conquest, were resident in co. Chester from the time of Henry III. till the beginning of the XVIII. cent." 1

Early Origins of the Domville family

The surname Domville was first found in Cheshire where the family was originally of Donville in the arrondisement of Lisieux in Normandy. The family held estates at Thingwell in Cheshire in early times. One of the first records of the family was Adam de Dunville 1182, who witnessed a charter in Chester. 2

"In the reign of Richard II. this place was held by the Domvilles, from whom it passed, through the Hulses and the Troutbecks, to the ancestors of the Earl of Shrewsbury." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one entry for the family: Hugo de Donvile, or Donvil, Salop (Shropshire.) 4

Early History of the Domville family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Domville research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1565, 1609, 1613, 1624, 1641, 1650, 1678, 1689, 1696, 1721, 1742, 1768, 1813 and 1833 are included under the topic Early Domville History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Domville Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Domville are characterized by many spelling variations. 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. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Domville include Domvile, Domville, Donvill, Donville, Dunville and many more.

Early Notables of the Domville family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

Sir William Domville (1565-1624)
Silas Domville (1624-1678), was an English antiquary, the son of Silvanus Taylor, a committee-man for Herefordshire and 'a grand Oliverian,' born at Harley, near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, on 16 July 1...

Migration of the Domville family to Ireland

Some of the Domville family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 134 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Domville migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Domville, or a variant listed above:

Domville Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Peter Domville, aged 31, who landed in Missouri in 1848 5
Thomas Domville, aged 50, who arrived in Missouri in 1848 5

Domville migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Domville Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Major Domville, who settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1796

Contemporary Notables of the name Domville (post 1700) +

Sir Barry Domville (1878-1971), English Admiral, President of the Royal Naval College (1932-1934)
Sir Gerald Domville (1896-1981), 7th Baronet, and English army Lieutenant-commander
Sir Gerald Guy Domville (1896-1981), 7th Baronet
Sir Cecil Lionel Domville (1892-1930), 6th Baronet
Sir James Henry Domville (1889-1919), 5th Baronet
Sir William Cecil Henry Domville (1849-1904), 4th Baronet
Sir James Graham Domville (1812-1887), 3rd Baronet
Sir William Domville (1774-1860), 2nd Baronet
Sir William Domville (1742-1833), 1st Baronet of St Alban's in the County of Hertford, Lord Mayor of London from 1813 to 1814
Sir William Domville, of St Albans, Hertfordsire, Lord Mayor of London in 1813-14
... (Another 3 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Domville 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: Qui stat caveat ne cadat
Motto Translation: Let him who standeth take heed lest he fall.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
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)