Show ContentsDeake History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Deake surname comes from the Old English "Day-Kin," or "Da-Kin," meaning "the kin of David;" while "Daw-kin" was the son of David. 1 2

Daw was a common diminutive of David in the Middle Ages. Over time there were changes in pronunciation and spelling, leading to many different variants of the name.

Early Origins of the Deake family

The surname Deake was first found in Norfolk at Docking, but strong evidence points to another possible origin of the family. "In the charter of endowment of Eton College, mention is made of the alien priory of Dokkyng, the monks whereof are supposed by Tanner to have belonged to the Abbey de Ibreio, in Normandy, to which this church was formerly appropriated. " 3

Continuing this possible origin, we found Thomas of Docking (fl. 1250), a "Franciscan, is stated in the Royal MS. 3 B. xii. in the British Museum to have been really named 'Thomas Gude, i.e. Bonus,' but called 'Dochyng' from the place of his birth (Casley, Catalogue of the Manuscripts of the King's Library, p. 43, London, 1734), evidently the village of Docking in the north of the county of Norfolk. The same manuscript describes him as doctor of divinity at Oxford." 4

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 an early Latin entry for the family: Daykenus (without surname), in County Rutland. 5 A few years later, Daykin de Wich was recorded in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1290 and later again, Richard Deykin was recorded in Shropshire in 1344. 6

In Yorkshire, the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 had the following entries: Dakyn de Idsford; Johannes Dawkyn; and Henricus Daykyn. The latter entry was dated 1370. 5

"The Dakins of Buxton and the Daykins of Alfreton possess an ancient Derbyshire name. The family of Dakeny or De Akeny followed William the Conqueror into England, and in the 13th century they were settled in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Bedfordshire, where they held possessions; in the 15th century they were established in Herts, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire; and in Derbyshire the Dakins owned lands in Chelmorton, Fairfield, and Wollow in the reign of Edward IV. " 7

Early History of the Deake family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deake research. Another 222 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1275, 1547, 1607, 1654, 1655, 1656, 1691, 1698, 1722, 1744, 1757, 1793 and 1804 are included under the topic Early Deake History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deake Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Dakin, Dakins, Dakyn, Daykin, Daykins, Daken, Deakin, Daikins, Daikyns, Daikin, Dayken, Daiken, Deakyn, Deake, Deaken and many more.

Early Notables of the Deake family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Rowland Dawkins (died 1691), a Welsh military colonel and politician, Member of Parliament for Carmarthenshire (1654-1656.)William Dakins (d. 1607), was an English divine, conjectured to have been the son of William Dakins, M.A., vicar of Ashwell, Hertfordshire. 4James Dawkins (1722-1757), descended...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Deake Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Deake family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: Mr. Daken who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1766; Gilbert Dakins settled in Virginia in 1638; Thomas Dakin settled in Concord. Some members of the name settled in Newfoundland between 1850 and 1871..


Contemporary Notables of the name Deake (post 1700) +

  • Edward D. Deake, American politician, Circuit Judge in Michigan 22nd Circuit, 1977-81 8


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  3. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  6. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  7. Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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