Dopson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Dopson is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from Dob, the baptismal name meaning the son of Robert. 1

Early Origins of the Dopson family

The surname Dopson was first found in Lancashire. The name was first found in the northern counties of England, firstly in Lancashire where they held Whitestock Hall, and by the 13th century had branched to Durham, Yorkshire, (where they held the Vicarage, near Bingley and Miss Ann Dobson was the heiress of Christopher Tancred of Wixley) and Cheshire. In 1396, Robert Johanson Dobson won a pardon in Lancashire. 2

Early History of the Dopson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dopson research. Another 164 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1327, 1567, 1610, 1633, 1646, 1670, 1675, 1681, 1695 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Dopson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dopson Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Dopson include Dobson, Dobsons, Dobsin, Dobsan, Dobsaun, Dobsone and many more.

Early Notables of the Dopson family

Notables of the family at this time include John Dobson (1633-1681), English Puritan divine, born in 1633 in Warwickshire, in which county his father was a minister. "In 1670 he was presented to the rectory of Corscombe in Dorsetshire, and about four years later to that of Cold Higham in Northamptonshire, by Sir William Farmor of Easton Neston, who had been his pupil at Magdalen College. He died in 1681 at Corscombe, where...
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dopson Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dopson family to Ireland

Some of the Dopson family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dopson migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Dopson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Dopson, who landed in Virginia in 1704 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Dopson (post 1700) +

Patrick DeWayne Dopson (b. 1978), American gospel musician, best known for his song "Keep Me" (2013)
John Robert Dopson Jr., (b. 1963), American former Major League Baseball pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1985 and 1988 to 1994
Robert James Dopson (b. 1967), Canadian former professional NHL ice hockey goaltender who played from 1990 to 2004

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
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)