Show ContentsDandis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The origins of the Anglo-Saxon name Dandis come from its first bearer, who was a male, where it was originally used as a pet form of Andrew. [1] Essentially the surname Dandis originally derived from the Old Scottish name Andrew.

Early Origins of the Dandis family

The surname Dandis 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 Dandis family

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

Dandis Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Dandis has been spelled many different ways, including Dandie, Dandy, Dande, Dando and others.

Early Notables of the Dandis 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 Dandis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dandis family

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Dandiss to arrive in North America: 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)


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