Show ContentsAncay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Ancay was brought to England by the Normans when they conquered the country in 1066. The ancestors of the Ancay family lived in Wiltshire. The family was originally from Anizy, in Calvados, Normandy, and it is from this location that their surname derives. The name would have stood as D'Anizy, which means from Anizy. 1

Early Origins of the Ancay family

The surname Ancay was first found in Wiltshire where Richard de Dauntesye was one of the first records of the name as listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273. The same rolls listed Peter de Dauntesy in Berkshire. 2

West Lavington in Wiltshire "was for many generations the property of the Dauntsey family, of whom William Dauntsey, a younger son, was alderman of London in 1542." 3 He would later found and endow an almshouse, and a grammar school there. The church contains the sepulchral chapel of the Dauntsey family. Through marriage the property passed to the Danvers family.

Early History of the Ancay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ancay research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1242, 1348, 1349, 1542, 1632, 1660 and 1663 are included under the topic Early Ancay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ancay Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Ancay 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 Ancay include Dancey, Dauncy, Dauncey, Dauntsey, Dance, Dancie, Dauncie, Dauntsie and many more.

Early Notables of the Ancay family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Richard Dansy, High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1348 and 1349. Roger Dansey was High Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1632. William Dauntesey (or Dauntsey) was a London merchant and Master of the Worshipful Company of Mercers. He died...
Another 45 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ancay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Ancay family to Ireland

Some of the Ancay family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Ancay family

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 Ancay, or a variant listed above: John Dancy who settled in Virginia in 1621; and later Henry Dancey who settled in the same colony in 1697; Gilbert Dance settled in New Orleans in 1822..



  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.


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