Show ContentsDundowe History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The origins of the Dundowe surname date from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name originated with an early member who was a male, where it was originally used as a pet form of Andrew. 1 Essentially the surname Dundowe originally derived from the Old Scottish name Andrew.

Early Origins of the Dundowe family

The surname Dundowe was first found in Surrey in the parish of Leigh, where the Dendy family held estates and made sizable donations to the local church. 2 The first record of the family was Dandi (without surname) who was listed in Lincolnshire in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1271-1273. The same rolls list Richard Dande in Huntingdonshire. Later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed Willelmus Dandy, et uxor ejus and the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire listed Thomas Dandisone in 1332. 3 Adam Dandy was listed in the Register of Freeman of Yorkshire in 1312. 1

The name may also be from Dand, Dandy, familiarly used in Scotland for Andrew. Comparing the Scottish records to the English ones, we can see that the Scottish ones were more recent and in many cases the name appears as a forename, not a surname. "Andrew Kerr, son of the eighth lord of Ferniehurst, who died in 1499, was generally known as 'Dand Kerr.' Dand was common as a Christian name in the south of Scotland in the sixteenth century, and in the list of tenants under the Abbey of Kelso in 1567 we find Dand Howy, Dand Glernet, Dand Lermont, Dand Craige, Dand Stobe, etc." 4

Early History of the Dundowe family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Dundowe research. Another 96 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1613, 1674, 1806, 1819 and 1831 are included under the topic Early Dundowe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Dundowe Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore, spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Dundowe has been recorded under many different variations, including Dandie, Dandy, Dande, Dando and others.

Early Notables of the Dundowe family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Kerr Dand, son of the eighth Lord of Ferniehurst; and Edward Dendy (bap. 1613-1674), English Serjeant-at-Arms in the Long Parliament and for the Rump during the trial of Charles I, convicted regicide, after the Restoration he fled to Rotterdam, and later to Switzerland where he died before the English ambassador George Downing could arrange for an arrest warrant in Rotterdam.Joseph Haydon Bourne Dando was born in Somers Town...
Another 75 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Dundowe Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dundowe family

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Dundowe or a variant listed above: Elizabeth Dande who settled in Boston in 1712; William Dando who settled in Barbados in 1654; Joseph Dando arrived in Philadelphia in 1838.



  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. 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)


Houseofnames.com on Facebook