Contents [hide]

D'arcy History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

D'arcy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Gaelic is at the heart of all the Irish surnames that can be found throughout the world today. The original Gaelic form of the name D'arcy is "O'Dorchaidhe," from the word "dorcha," which means "dark." Alternatively, some branches of the family may be descended from Norman stock; the name is also derived from "Arcy," the name of a place in La Manche, Normandy. In this case, the surname would refer to "one from Arcy."

Early Origins of the D'arcy family

The surname D'arcy was first found in Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) part of the province of Connacht, located on the west coast of the Island, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the D'arcy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our D'arcy research. Another 338 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1334, 1384, 1598, 1668, 1725 and 1779 are included under the topic Early D'arcy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

D'arcy Spelling Variations

The search for the origins of the name D'arcy family name revealed numerous spelling variations. These variants can be somewhat accounted for when it is realized that before widespread literacy people only recognized their name by pronunciation; it was up to scribes to decide how it was to be formally recorded. Variations found include Dorcey, Dorcy, Dorsey, Darcey, D'Arcy, O'Dorcey, MacDarcy, Darsy and many more.

Early Notables of the D'arcy family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

Sir John D'Arcy, chief Governor of Ireland under Kings Edward I, II, III (14th century)

D'arcy Ranking

In the United States, the name D'arcy is the 13,816^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name D'arcy is ranked the 5,685^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2

D'arcy migration to the United States +

Thousands of Irish left in their homeland in the 18th and 19th centuries to escape the religious and political discrimination they experienced primarily at the hands of the English, and in the search of a plot of land to call their own. These immigrants arrived at the eastern shores of North America, early on settling and breaking the land, and, later, building the bridges, canals, and railroads essential to the emerging nations of United States and Canada. Many others would toil for low wages in the dangerous factories of the day. Although there had been a steady migration of Irish to North America over these years, the greatest influx of Irish immigrants came to North America during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the Irish name D'arcy or a variant listed above:

D'arcy Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Darcy, who landed in Maryland in 1637 3
Eliz Darcy, who arrived in Virginia in 1658 3
Thomas Darcy, who arrived in Maryland in 1661 3
Bartho Darcy, who landed in Virginia in 1697 3

D'arcy Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Darcy, who arrived in Virginia in 1715 3
Michael Darcy, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1767 3

D'arcy Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Darcy, who arrived in New York in 1839 3
John Darcy, who settled in New York in 1850
Bridget D'Arcy, who was on record in Illinois in 1853
Daniel Darcy, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1871 3

D'arcy migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

D'arcy Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

George Darcy, who was living in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1774 4

D'arcy Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Anne Darcy, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1812
Edward Darcy, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1831
Honora Darcy, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1832
Mrs. Johanna Darcy, aged 40 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Scotland" departing from the port of Cork, Ireland but died on Grosse Isle in July 1847 5
Mrs. Judith Darcy, aged 50 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec but died on Grosse Isle on June 16th, 1847 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

D'arcy migration to Australia +

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

D'arcy Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Patrick Darcy, Irish convict who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 29th November 1801, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. Andrew Darcy, (b. 1749), aged 53, Irish labourer who was convicted in Wexford, Ireland for lif for murder, transported aboard the "Atlas" on 30th May 1802, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 6
Mr. John Darcy, (Gibbs, William), English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 30th September 1848, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 7
Margaret D'Arcy, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Eliza" in 1849 8
Patrick D'Arcy, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Eliza" in 1849 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name D'arcy (post 1700) +

Major-General Thomas Connell Darcy (1910-1998), American Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans & Programs (1957) 9
Thomas Francis Darcy (1932-2000), American Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist
Paul F. Darcy, American politician, U.S. Vice Consul in Swansea, 1922 10
P. H. D'Arcy, American politician, Mayor of Salem, Oregon, 1891-92 10
John L. D'Arcy, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for New York State Assembly from Erie County 7th District, 1936, 1937 10
Jo Anne Darcy (b. 1931), American Republican politician, Mayor of Santa Clarita, California, 1991, 1995, 1999-2000 10
James A. D'Arcy, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1972 10
James Darcy, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Kings County 4th District, 1860-63 10
Brian E. Darcy, American Democratic Party politician, Member, Rules Committee, Democratic National Convention, 2008 10
Eamonn Darcy (1933-2022), Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper (1951-1969)
... (Another 13 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the D'arcy family +

HMS Dorsetshire

Cornelius Darcy (d. 1945), British Petty Officer Cook (S) aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 11

RMS Lusitania

Mr. John Darcy, English First Waiter from England, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and survived the sinking 12

Victoria steamboat disaster

James Darcy, Canadian passenger who was killed in the Victoria steamboat disaster when the boat capsized in 1881

The D'arcy 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: Un dieu, un roi
Motto Translation: One God, one king.

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 23)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atlas
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th November 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ELIZA 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Eliza.htm
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, January 10) Thomas Darcy. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Darcy/Thomas_Connell/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 27) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 6) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/