Show ContentsDeale History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Etymology of Deale

What does the name Deale mean?

The present generation of the Deale family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in various counties throughout ancient Britain, as the name literally means "at the dale," or "of the dole," (a division of land.) 1

"The medieval form was At Dale, softened afterwards to A'Dale, as often found in parish registers of the XVI. cent., and widely renowned through the ballad of Robin Hood and Allin a'Dale." 2

Deal is "a sea-port, market-town, and parish, and a member of the town and port of Sandwich, in the union of Eastry, hundred of Cornilo, lathe of St. Augustine, E. division of Kent. The origin of this place is involved in obscurity: it has been considered as the spot where Cæsar first landed when he invaded Britain; but this hypothesis is very doubtful. Leland gives the town the name of Dela, and Nennius says that "Cæsar battled at Dola," which Camden supposes to mean Deal; there are no records, however, of any town existing here till several centuries after the Romans had quitted Britain." 3

Early Origins of the Deale family

The surname Deale was first found in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273-1275 where Roger de le Dele and John Dele were listed in Norfolk, 4 Ralph de la Dale and Thomas de la Dale were registered in Suffolk and William dela Dole was registered in Cambridgeshire. 1

The Assize Rolls for Kent recorded John de Dele in 1317 and Hubert de Dele was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Suffolk in 1327. 4

Back in Norfolk, we found Thomas atte Dela, de Fodeston, rector of Foston, Norfolk in 1361 and John atte Dele, vicar of Wigenhale, Norfolk in 1374. 5

In Yorkshire, we found Thomas del Dale; Robertus del Dale; Willelmus at Dale; and Johannes at Dale as all holding lands there at the time according to the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. The Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lancashire include a listing for Richard del Dale in 1332. 1

In Scotland, early records there show "Johannes de Dale was charter witness at Yester, 1374, Syme of Daile and Jok of Dail of the Newtoun occur in Ayrshire, 1470, and John Daill [was found] in Fouldaine, 1653." 6

Early History of the Deale family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Deale research. Another 108 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1545, 1567, 1602 and 1671 are included under the topic Early Deale History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Deale Spelling Variations

Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Deale include Deal, Deale, Dealey, Dealy, Deel and others.

Early Notables of the Deale family

More information is included under the topic Early Deale Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Deale migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Deale were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records:

Deale Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Jeremy Deale who was one of the original settlers of Virginia in 1606 before the "Mayflower"
  • Mary Deale, who arrived in Maryland in 1668 7
  • Thomas Deale, who arrived in Maryland in 1671 7
  • Anne Deale, who landed in Virginia in 1697 7
Deale Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Richard Deale, who landed in America in 1766 7
Deale Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Francis Deale, who arrived in New York, NY in 1815 7

Deale migration to Australia +

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

Deale Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Mr. John Deale, British Convict who was convicted in Devon, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 25th June 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8

Deale migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9
Deale Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • William Deale, who settled in Barbados in 1685


  1. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  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. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Rye, Walter, A History of Norfolk. London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, 1885. Print
  6. 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)
  7. 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)
  8. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 19th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies


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