Show ContentsDounner History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancient roots of the Dounner family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Dounner comes from when the family lived in an area that was described by a downward slope. The surname was originally derived from the Anglo-Saxon word dun which means a hill.

Early Origins of the Dounner family

The surname Dounner was first found in Sussex. Another branch was located at Roosdown in Devon. "This place, which was formerly a parish, was anciently called Ralphdown, from its owner, Ralph de Downe, in the reign of Henry II." 1

Early History of the Dounner family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dounner research. Another 329 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1226, 1270, 1327, 1350, 1379, 1407, 1445, 1549, 1570, 1609, 1619, 1628, 1631, 1662, 1666, 1710, 1779, 1805, 1810 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Dounner History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dounner Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Dounner has appeared include Down, Downe, Downer, Doune, Douner, Dounner, Downner and many more.

Early Notables of the Dounner family

Distinguished members of the family include Andrew Downes, also known as Dounaeus, (c. 1549-1628), English classical scholar, one of the seven translators of the Apocrypha for the King James Version of the Bible. John Downe (1570?-1631), was an English divine, son of John Downe, by his wife, Joan, daughter of John...
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dounner Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Dounner family to Ireland

Some of the Dounner family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dounner family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Dounner arrived in North America very early: Robert Downe arrived on St. Christopher Island, in the West Indies in 1635. John Downe crossed over in 1663 and landed in Virginia. Later he sailed south in 1685 to Barbados. Branches of the family later colonized the eastern seaboard..



  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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