Dawncay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Dawncay reached English shores for the first time with the ancestors of the Dawncay family as they migrated following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Dawncay 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 Dawncay family

The surname Dawncay 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 Dawncay family

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

Dawncay Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, Norman French and other languages became incorporated into English throughout the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Dawncay include Dancey, Dauncy, Dauncey, Dauntsey, Dance, Dancie, Dauncie, Dauntsie and many more.

Early Notables of the Dawncay family (pre 1700)

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 Dawncay Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Dawncay family to Ireland

Some of the Dawncay 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 Dawncay family

In England at this time, the uncertainty of the political and religious environment of the time caused many families to board ships for distant British colonies in the hopes of finding land and opportunity, and escaping persecution. The voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, though, and many arrived in North America sick, starved, and destitute. Those who did make it, however, were greeted with greater opportunities and freedoms that they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Early immigration records have shown some of the first Dawncays to arrive on North American shores: 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..

Citations +

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