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Drea is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Drea family lived in Wiltshire. The surname descends from Herman de Drewes, whose name translates literally as from Drewes.
The surname Drea was first found in Wiltshire where Amalric de Drewes held lands as listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. 1 However, there is an earlier listing of Wado de Dreux living in 1050 but at an unknown location. 2 The Anglo-Norman name claims descend from Dreux, which lies near the boundary between Normandy and the Île-de-France. The Counts of Dreux were a noble family of France, who took their title from the château of Dreux. Robert I of Dreux, the fifth son of Louis VI of France, nicknamed the Great (c.1123-1188) married Hawise of Salisbury (1118-1152), daughter of Walter Fitz Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Drea research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1203, 1316, 1519, 1542, 1557, 1598, 1610 and 1631 are included under the topic Early Drea History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Drea 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 Drea include Drew, Drewe, Drywe and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Edward Drew (1542?-1598), recorder of London, eldest son of Thomas Drew (b. 1519), by his wife Eleanora, daughter of William Huckmore of the county of Devon, appears to have been born at the family seat of Sharpham, in the parish of Ashprington, near Totnes, and spent some time at the university. "An entry in the...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Drea Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
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 Drea, or a variant listed above: