Contents [hide]

Durrant History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Durrant History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Italy
Scotland

The region of Dauphine, in the French Alps, was the ancestral homeland of the prestigious surname Durrant. The surname Durrant is a nickname surname, which belongs to the category of surnames known as hereditary surnames. This particular surname was originally derived from the Old French word durant, which means enduring. It was a nickname commonly used for a stubborn, unbending person. A broad and miscellaneous class of surnames, nickname surnames referred to a characteristic of the first person who used the name. They can describe the bearer's favored style of clothing, appearance, habits, or character.

Early Origins of the Durrant family

The surname Durrant was first found in Dauphiny (French: Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois), a former province in southeastern France, where the family dates back to as early as 1095 when a member of the De Durand family took part in a Crusade. Ponce De Durant and Humbert, his brother, are mentioned in two charters dating 1188 and 1205.

Many members of this ancient family took part in the wars of their times, protecting the King and their country, for which they were rewarded with lands and titles. The son of Ponce, Pierre I De Durant (1175-1256) was a Lord who controlled much land in Chabeuil. In 1380, Noble Simon is mentioned in the ancient archives as a taxpayer and landowner. A prominent member of the family, Reymond De Durand served with distinction in the armies of Louis XI and of Charles VIII and in consideration of his loyal services, the latter King granted him the title of Guard of the castle of Perpignan in 1485, at which time the castle was of great importance for the State.

Charles Durand, Gentleman of the Chamber, married Anne de Bonne de Sénégas in 1566 and their grand-son, Charles, was the Baron of Sénégas and the ancestor of the Marquis of Sénégas. The majority of the members of the Durand family held lands and titles.

Nicolas Durand, born in 1637, son of Pierre and Nicole (née Prevost), travelled from France to Canada in the 17th century. After arriving in Quebec he married Françoise Gausse, daughter of Maurice and Marguerite (née Blay), on 12th September 1661. They remained together in Beauport, Quebec until Françoise passed away on 9th March 1714. 1

Early History of the Durrant family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Durrant research. Another 24 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1500, 1589, 1600, 1680, 1721, 1763, 1789, 1814 and 1815 are included under the topic Early Durrant History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durrant Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Durand, Durant, Durrand, Durrant, Durant, Durrant, Durend, Durrend, Durent, Durrent, Duran, Durran, Duranc, Durranc, De Durand, De Durant, Duranti, De Durand, De Durant, Durante, Durrante, Durande and many more.

Early Notables of the Durrant family

Notable amongst the family at this time was Jean-Etienne Duranti who received his Doctorate of Law, became the Attorney General, and the President of the Parliament of Toulouse, but was murdered by members of a league on February 16, 1589. His bust is at the Salle des Illustres and a street in Toulouse carries his name. Guillaume De Durant was the Lord of Montgeard and of Caneville and received his Doctorate of Law in the mid 1500's. Participating in the political affairs of the times, Paul De Durand, Lord of Roquefoulet and of Montgeard, was the President of the Parliament during...
Another 214 words (15 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Durrant Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Durrant Ranking

In the United States, the name Durrant is the 10,776^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Durrant migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Durrant Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Durrant, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 3

Durrant Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Thomas Durrant, who settled in Maryland in 1774

Durrant Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Durrant, who arrived in New York in 1846 3

Durrant Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Horace W Durrant, who landed in Mississippi in 1905 3

Durrant migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Durrant Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Samuel Durrant, who landed in Canada in 1832

Durrant migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Durrant Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Maria Durrant, English convict who was convicted in Sussex, England for 14 years, transported aboard the "Fanny" on 14th July 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Thomas Durrant, English convict who was convicted in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 27th August 1836, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1843 5
James Durrant, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Isabella Watson" in 1846 6
David Durrant, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Branken Moor" in 1849 7
Miss. Sarah Ann Durrant, English convict who was convicted in Norwich, Norfolk, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baretto Junior" on 5th April 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Durrant migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Durrant Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Durrant, aged 25, a labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Gertrude" in 1841 9
Mr. Elisha Durrant, British settler, as the 2nd Detachment of New Zealand Corps of Royal New Zealand Fencibles travelling from Gravesend aboard the ship "Minerva" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 8th October 1847 10
F. Durrant, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Golconda" in 1859
James Durrant, aged 45, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waimea" in 1876
Mary Durrant, aged 45, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Waimea" in 1876
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Durrant migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 11

Durrant Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Thomas Durrant arrived with his wife and servants in Barbados in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Durrant (post 1700) +

Devin George Durrant (b. 1960), retired American professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers and the Phoenix Suns from 1984 to 1985
William James Durrant, American historian, philosopher and teacher
Winnie Durrant, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 2000 12
Joyce Durrant, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Utah, 1996 12
H. W. Durrant, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1908 12
Sir Henry Thomas Estridge Durrant (1807-1861), 3rd Baronet of Scottow, Norfolk, English peer
Sir Thomas Durrant (1775-1829), 2nd Baronet of Scottow, Norfolk, English peer
Sir Thomas Durrant (1722-1790), 1st Baronet of Scottow, Norfolk, High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1784, English peer
Sir William Alexander Estridge Durrant (b. 1929), 8th Baronet of Scottow, Norfolk, English peer
Sir William Henry Estridge Durrant (1901-1994), 7th Baronet of Scottow, Norfolk, English peer
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Durrant family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. James Durrant (1890-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13
Mrs. Frances Durrant (1884-1914), née King Canadian Third Class Passenger from Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 13

The Durrant 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: Fert patriae facilem annonam
Motto Translation: Brings the country an easy market

Citations +

Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. 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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fanny
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th October 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ISABELLA WATSON 1846. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1846IsabellaWatson.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) The BRANKEN MOOR 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849BrankenMoor.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baretto-junior
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 12th December 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 4) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html